Third World Revolution
by CerealGuy27
Summary: What do you think would happen if a street urchin with a dark past gets launched into the IS Academy as one of the only two males currently known to be able to pilot an IS? And what if that person holds the key to the fall of the IS? AU *Under Revision. Revised prologue, ch.1-2 up*
1. Prologue

Prologue

Disclaimers: Only my OC's are mine. Infinite Stratos, other references, and everything else ain't mine.

* * *

I was panting as I ran down the dark cobblestone street. My feet slapped against the damp road.

They're running after me.

Those damned traitors; selling out the "brotherhood". Hell, I didn't really like being there. But since my despicable mother threw me away to the streets to rot and die, I now suffer this fate.

"There he is! Follow him!"

Damn, these stupid-ass pigs! They don't know when to stop, do they?

Sprinting through to the next block, I then ducked at the side, near the backstreets.

"Hey, where did he go?"

"Let's split up! I'll go here, and you two go over there! Don't leave any stone unturned!"

As the police officers ran off to different directions, I finally let myself stop to take a deep breath. I rested for a while, reflecting on why my life has changed so drastically. My life didn't change much though; it just went from shit to even deeper shit. That Infinite Stratos certainly ruined my already broken life, which all boiled down to me being thrown (quite literally) out of my house; the only home I've ever known, onto the streets. You see, the Infinite Stratos was made by that so-called "genius" Japanese woman called Shinonono Tabane. Sometimes I wish all of those stupid inventions would just crumble to dust; leaving not a trace of them behind.

Oh, how rude of me for not introducing myself. My given was Christian Santos, but when I hit the streets, I changed my name to Emmanuel Guevarra. I mean, if you want to change your name, might as well make it sound badass. Now, as for the "brotherhood," that's the remnants of an old rebellion whose sole purpose is to bring the manufacturing of the IS to a halt.

Aw crap, and now it started raining. Why did this have to happen to me?

I knew it'd get heavy in a few minutes; I heard last night that another low pressure area was detected again.

Seeing the all-girls school, I sneaked in. I had a mission to accomplish there; and no, it did not include "panty-snatching."

Now, normally the security is quite effective, but the combination of the heavy rain and my stealth expertise, sneaking in was not a problem. I remember before I was cast away into the dirty streets of the ghetto, my friends would fondly call me "Sneak Master". Ever since I was young, they would always take hours to find me, even with the help of adults, when we play hide-and-seek.

Sneaking inside was one thing, slipping past the inhabitants unnoticed was another. Fortunately, I've been studying the layout of this school for months now, so I know almost everything about the layout of the building. Still, I need to watch out for those pesky cameras. Hopefully nobody was in the faculty room.

Body tensed, I attempted to sneak through the corridor and to the semi-open door, since there were no lights on inside. On my way, I heard various on-goings of my country; the pork barrel, or formally PDAF Scam, Zamboanga Massacre, some old lady's murder and all that. Frankly, I just stopped caring. My country is already corrupted as it was, and I don't think I'm in the position to be able to do something about it. Makes me wish it was Marcos or Ramon Magsaysay was the President again.

Anyway, I was thankfully able to enter the aforementioned room. True to my expectations, there were no lights on, barring a spotlight in the middle, shining over what seemed to be a deactivated IS. Ah, I know this one. I believe the name of this model was Rafale Revive Basic, manufactured by... France, if I'm not mistaken. I had studied the basic layout of the IS, so I knew where its weak spot was. I pulled a double-edged dagger from my pocket.

One jab, that's all I had to do. Then, I could get the hell out of there.

I read about the recently opened "IS Academy", an academy built and designed to train the female population to properly control and navigate the annoyingly powerful invention. I knew that once people heard how weak this invention was; that even a simple dagger could put one out of use, everyone would stop funding her research, and the manufacturing of these stupid contraptions would come to a halt.

I reached out to touch it. Though I had been researched this for quite some months, I had never seen one up close before. My hand connected with the cool, green metal of the machine. It lighted up and started making those whirring noises. It was booting up. I quickly looked around the room and saw that no one else was there.

"Did I just start it up? I thought only girls could..."

I heard the pounding of boots.

"Oh shit. Shit, Shit, SHIT!" I thought to myself; I had to get out quick, but I knew it was too late for that.

I was caught. I raised my knife high in the air, but before I could bring it down on that horrible invention, I heard a voice behind me.

"Freeze! Put-"

Whatever the female guard was about to say was silenced when she saw me standing beside the fully-booted IS, knife raised high above my head.

"Did, did you-"

"What?" I asked. Stupid question, really, but I was trying to buy myself some time to formulate an escape plan.

"You, you were not supposed to be able to do that!" The female guard exclaimed. That reaction makes me want to laugh like a madman.

"And...?" I said as the back-up of a team of SWATs surrounded me.

Ugh. This was just getting better and better, wasn't it?

"We'll be taking full custody of you, and will send you to IS Academy to represent our country." The regional governor walked in, her bratty aura permeating through the air.

"Well, that escalated quickly." I thought.

"Uh, how about no." Though I really don't want to go to jail, I still would rather go there than that academy.

"No. Section 15.3, paragraph 4 clearly states that all males that are able to operate an IS must go to the academy. The decision is final. You will be given a one-week crash course on the basics of IS so that you won't go there like a lost chimp. Am I understood?" The bitch huffed, looking rather proud.

I sighed, but stayed silent. Resisting would get me to even deeper shit at this point. Better bend to the superior wind for now.

The S.W.A.T. officers loaded me up into one of their black vehicles and drove me off into the night.


	2. Here We Come

CHAPTER 1: Here We Come

Disclaimers: I only own my OCs. Infinite Stratos and the other references aren't mine.

* * *

"WAKE UP YOU FUCKING LAZY ASSES! THIS AIN'T A HOTEL YOU GOOD-FOR NOTHING'S!" the ghoulish shriek was heard again.

Damn, couldn't I get any decent sleep here?

Well, on the upside, what remained of my fat (a relic of my post-abandoned self) was removed. And also, this is my last day in the all-girl prep course. Ha! I'm back on the highway of success!

"I AM GIVING YOU AN HOUR TO PREP YOURSELVES AND PACK YOUR BAGS. BE OUT ON THE AIR-FIELD AT EXACTLY ZERO SIX HUNDRED OR ELSE WE'RE LEAVING WITHOUT YOU!" the ghoulish trainer screamed. At last I was going to be away from this cesspool of squeamish and boorish girls. Well, not all, but you know what I mean.

"Alight, cool your jets. Now, can you please leave my room, or do you really have a crush on me and desire to see me naked?" I spat at her.

"You're lucky you're above the law..." she muttered before walking away.

"Ha! Sucks to be you!" I shouted as she went on her way.

At last, a new life. Wonder what's waiting for me?

Going through this crash course made me realize that I don't, in fact, hate the IS; just some of the people who created them. My mind began to wander to my past experiences, but I quickly shook those out of my head. I never wanted to think of those again.

At least I won't be the single person with the XY chromosomes there. I heard that a Japanese bloke named Orimura Ichika was also there. Seriously, two single males in an entirely girl inhabited school? Though there will be plenty of single, hot girls looking for some romance there, do they really think that it is such a good idea? Just the thought of being trampled by a horde of girls sent shivers down my spine, but not the good ones. God, protect us.

* * *

High up in the sky...

I listened to my awesome tunes on my phone, coffee on one hand and pan de sal on the other, life is good...

Suddenly, I felt a thick pile of papers being slammed down on the foldable table in front of me.

"WAKE UP LAZYBONE!" It's that ghoul again.

I hope something is actually interesting in that pile.

"What the actual fuck are you doing again?" I tried to stay as calm as possible. Seriously, she never stops irritating me, she reminds of a watered-down version of my biological mother.

"Now, now. Certainly, there must be something at least remotely interesting there." Elaine calmed me down. She was my former crush, yes former, and also another student inbound to IS Academy. She is also from the Philippines, same as I.

So, then came the ordeal of having to sign the huge stack of papers, most of them I didn't even understand. But alas, my efforts have been worth it as I saw what appeared to be a questionnaire...

Holy shit! I have a personal IS? And I can even customize and personalize it to my preference? Damn!

And thus, my time of flight was spent thinking and writing down all my aspirations for my new personal IS.

* * *

In Japan...

"I really don't like sitting down very long." I said as I stretched my back, making some popping sounds.

"At last, we're here, in Japan!" Elaine exclaimed. Well, she really did want to come to Japan one day, so I guess this is a win for her.

"You've got a full day on getting yourselves acquainted to Japan. But make sure to go back to your hotel rooms, because your trainers we'll be confirming your enrollment in the academy. So tomorrow you need to wake up early in order to catch your first class on time. Good luck and have fun!" Elaine's trainer said.

To tell you the truth, I'm a bit jealous of her. Her trainer is so gentle and knows how to handle people well. Whilst mine is this... ghoul? She reminds me of a Banshee. Ugly, mean and has the most horrid of screams. That is what we will call her from now on; Banshee.

"Yes Miss Jeanette! Take care!" I said to Elaine's trainer.

"May you die a horrible death..." said Ms. Dorana, or Banshee, as we named her a few moments ago.

"We'll see..." I said as we waved.

Elaine and I decided it was time to explore the wonders of Tokyo.

We visited numerous landmarks and tourist spots that are quite near the vicinity of our hotel complex. We also visited numerous shops and bought a lot of souvenirs. While Elaine bought clothes and some other fashion accessories, perfumes and trinkets, I mostly bought games and their merchandises, and looked around the anime shops. I also bought that cool long coat that I desperately wanted. They are the types that Kirito from Sword Art Online wore, to give you an idea as to how it looks like, if you didn't know yet. But the one I bought was all black, with numerous pockets within and outside. This should be useful.

"Does this look good on me, Emman?" Elaine asked me as I turned to face her. If I still had a crush on her like before, I'd probably be having a nose-bleed right now. Elaine was wearing a tight, plain black shirt that fit perfectly around the curves of her body.

"Yeah! Go ahead and buy it! Just remember your budget, ok?" I reminded her.

"No problem." She said as she went to the counter.

"Anata no boifurendo?" the Japanese saleslady asked my companion Elaine as she was paying. Truthfully, I had no idea what that meant, though the last word she said sounder really familiar. Bo, Boyifu-what was that? Oh hell, never mind. I was never good with foreign languages anyway, except English that is.

"Chigau! Kare wa watashi no yujinda!" Elaine replied back in Japanese, but with a panicky voice. Hmmm, I only know very few Japanese words, and all those I learned from watching anime. If I'm getting this correctly, "Chigau" means "No". Hmmmm... Wonder what was that about. Speaking of which, it's getting dark. Looking at my watch, I noticed it's already 7:49 PM. Wow, time sure went fast, and from all the excitement I forgot the protests of my stomach.

My stomach rumbled.

"Ohh, someone's hungry!" Elaine teased. "Shut it! I know that already!"

"When will our trainers pick us up again?" She asked me.

"Hmmmm, I think its 10:00 PM." I replied. Not really sure, but I know it's around that time.

"I vote that we rest for a while and get something to eat. Coming?" I offered.

"Yep, just wait for a bit." She said, packing the purchased merchandise.

And so we went to eat the various Japanese dishes. Damned wasabi makes my nose feel like a firecracker popped inside it. Elaine then laughed at me for not knowing how wasabi works. We continued to be like this while waiting for our trainers to come pick us up.

* * *

Later at 10:00 PM...

"They should be around by now..." Elaine said as we waited outside the spa that she suggested.

"Speak of the devil." I said as a taxi pulled by us.

"Hop in, kids. We got your ID, uniforms, and school supplies right here!" Ms. Jeanette said as she opened the door.

"Thanks!" I and Elaine said in unison. When we got to the hotel, we ate for a short while and talked about what we did throughout the day. Apparently, our trainers also did some sightseeing, and was very impressed with the nation as far as what they saw. They also said that the IS academy will have its own dorms and that we will stay there for the duration of the year. Shortly after that, we did our nightly ceremonies and devotions, and then hit the sack for tonight.

* * *

5:00 AM the next day...

"Alright, wake up everyone!" Miss Jeanette's cheerful voice filled the air

Ugh! What time was it anyway? Would we have to wake up this early every morning?

I tried to rise from my bed with all the strength I could muster.

"Mornings really are your Kryptonite, Ems." Elaine said while brushing her teeth. She just finished taking a bath, and she is wearing a bathrobe, with a towel wrapped around her hair.

"Indeed it is..." I grunted as I stood up to go towards the room's bathroom. Though before I ent in, a question crossed my mind.

"How the hell are you two in here anyway?" I asked.

Elaine just lifted two set of keys, and one of them was mine.

"Ah, I see." I said lazily as I stumbled inside the bath.

"Make it quick!" Miss Jeanette reminded me as she closed the door behind me.

* * *

Later on...

"You two ready?" Miss Jeanette asked us one last time at the train station that takes us to IS Academy.

"Yep." I replied.

"Yes, Ma'm!" Elaine chirped.

"Alright, take care and have fun!" She waves us goodbye as we boarded the train.

"I wonder why Miss Dorana didn't see us leave..." Elaine thought out loud.

"I really don't care. I'm glad that old Banshee is gone." I replied.

"Is that so?" She was a bit downcast, but nothing major.

"Yeah. IS Academy, here we come!" I said to myself, grinning at the thought of a new adventure awaiting us.

* * *

By the way:

The Japanese saleslady asked Elaine if Emmanuel was her boyfriend, while Elaine replied that he was only her friend.

Stay tuned and review!


	3. First Impressions

Chapter 2: First Impressions

Down the train station...

"Hurry up, Ems! Look at the Academy; it's so big!" Elaine called out to me as I carried our luggage. Yes, our, because I am a gentleman. Well, at least to my friends and loved ones anyway.

"Coming, coming..." I said, half-running, half-juggling her luggage since mine has a stroller and I just tied it to my belt I wonder why a lot of women pack a lot of stuff when they can just clean and then reuse them.

"Can't keep up already? Is it too heavy, perhaps?" Elaine asked, genuinely worried.

"Nah, this is light. It's just so many and it's hard to balance them all!" I replied, still having difficulty with the boxes and plastics that I carry in my hands.

"Alright..." She said as she pulled her suitcase along with her. A few minutes of walking from the station, we were already at the gates. Apparently, the aforementioned station took us directly to the academy gates, and was the only way to get there barring marine or aerial vehicles.

"Identification please." A male guard approached us as we neared the gates.

"Hi, fellow XY human!" I greeted the guard. Apparently, the guard got the joke and laughed as well.

"Ah, the second male IS pilot! Do us proud, kababayan!" the guard said. Wow, lots of Filipinos' everywhere.

"Sige ba!" I replied back as he opened the gates.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go to class!" Elaine ran off. I gave our stuff to the bellboy, gave a quick hello, and then sped off to class as well. While we were running, I memorized the way we ran through, so that we won't get lost easily. That's another of my gifts; I could easily memorize a completely unknown area, and I can also make a mental map quite quickly. In fact, all people have this talent originally, but due to technology, the body de-evolved it, seeing that it had no use anymore. Did you know that people once had "crocodile eyelids"? You know, what crocodiles use so that they can see underwater, the extra transparent membrane-like eyelids? But then again, technology came in and ruined it all.

"Oooookay! Here it is!" Elaine finally stopped running, taking in deep breaths as she did so.

"Well... ladies first!" I said, knocking on the door quickly before stepping behind her.

In the classroom...

"Alright, girls... and boy, welcome to IS Academy school year 2013-2014!" Yamada-sensei said to the class of girls... and a boy, which you would have guessed by now, would be Orimura Ichika. The 5'8 Japanese teen stood out like a sore thumb in the classroom since he is the only male in there. He's also loking very sleepy. Oh so very sleepy...

"Orimura-kun! Orimura-kun!" Yamada Maya, or the Yamada-Sensei, shook him gently, trying to wake him up before "she" arrived.

Too late.

Orimura Chifuyu, or Orimura-Sensei, came in the classroom with that air of confidence she always seems to carry around her. Silently coming up to her younger brother's seat, she grinned as she slammed her hands to the table.

"WAKE UP!" Ichika's upper body shot up like a rocket and took a moment before registering just who is she in front of him.

"KYAAAAAAHHHH! It's Orimura-sensei!" the girls screamed out loud. All the girls went into but fan-girl mode over her, asking her to punish them and whatnot.

"Chi-Chifuyu-nee?!" Ichika managed to stammer out, a bit confused.

"It's Orimura-sensei here in school!" She said, bonking him with a book on the head.

"Hai, Orimura-sensei..." Ichika said in a somewhat downcast tone.

"Eh? Orimura-kun is Orimura-sense's little brother?!" A girl called out loud. No shit, Sherlock.

"Anyway!" Chifuyu shouted. "I will be your assistant teacher for this school year. Your main teacher will be Yamada-sensei right here. Any questions?" she called out.

"Kyaaa! I will do anything for you, Orimura-sensei!"

"I have always dreamed of following your footsteps, Orimura-sensei!"

"Please be mine!" The fan-girls' shouting are getting weirder by the second.

"Seriously, I won't be surprised if the principal always puts the idiots with me as a practical joke..." She sighed shaking her head.

"Anyway, we have two new students here in this class. Guevarra, Castillo, come in." Chifuyu said as two figures opened the door...

We heard the woman called Chifuyu beckon us in. I opened the door and let Elaine in first because, I was gentleman. Following behind her, we went up the front and introduced ourselves.

"Hello everyone! My name is Elaine Castillo. I am from Philippines, and I hope we could get along!" She said in her Charisma Mode, as I called it. Almost any ordinary person would want to be friendly with her after that. Heh, seems quite handy in defusing situations. The class girls all nodded and smiled at her. The sole male, Ichika, seems to be in a daze. Probably from that head bonk. It's my turn now, huh.

"Uh... hi. My name is Emmanuel Guevarra, and I'm from the Philippines as well." I said rather shyly. I'm not much for talking, you see.

"Is that all, Guevarra-kun?" The terribly disproportionate teacher named Maya Yamada asked me. I mean, seriously, the size of her "fun bags" compared to her body frame is so disproportionate that it's like making an 8 year-old wear an L-sized adult shirt.

"Um... yeah." I said rather meekly.

"He isn't much for talking, Yamada-sensei." Elaine explained.

"Oh, I see. At any rate, let's start the class, shall we?" Yamada-sensei said as she walked towards the whiteboard. Normally, I'll pay attention to class so that I don't need to review later, but it was the basics, which was drilled to me by Banshee back at the crash course in the Philippines. And so, I put my head down on my desk, and fell fast asleep.

_"Mom, please don't do this!" I said as I saw my mother fling my belongings outside. She remained silent all throughout, with my little brother and sister smiled wickedly as I embraced my mother's feet, crying like there's no tomorrow. As she finished throwing all my stuff outside to the raining night streets, she declared me dead and she did not know who I was. What did I even do to deserve this?!_

_"Mom! MOM!" I said as they locked the gates. My siblings laughed at me, as I was being shamed. Being like this at past midnight is certainly inviting danger, but nonetheless, I started moving, with no specific place in mind. My mind and heart raged in unison, vowing that one day I will avenge myself for everything they have done to me. Suddenly, I heard a metal swoosh-"_

BAM!

The sound echoed throughout the classroom as Emmanuel was nearly hit by Chifuyu's Textbook.

"Good to see that you're awake. Okay then, since you were already drilled with the basics back at your country, I won't be asking you questions. Orimura! Have you read the basics of the IS?" Chifuyu asked. Damn, she sure is harsh, even to her lil' bro. The dude obviously didn't, since he was fidgeting and nervous. A chop was unleashed upon Nervous Student!

"Orimura-sensei, his brain might get affected!" A female student called out. Meanwhile, Elaine was just giggling silently to herself at her seat.

"Alright! As a punishment..." Chifuyu slammed down what seemed to be a very thick book... wait I know this book!

"Then, memorize its contents in a week's time." the she-devil said in a commanding tone.

"D-don't you understand anything at all, Ichika-kun? Not even a tiny, weensy, teeny little bit?" the greenhead asked anxiously. Now that I mentioned it, the basics of IS control is pretty vague to me right now. I'll probably ask for some after-school special lessons. "Uh, not really, Yamada-sensei..." Ichika replied.

My social skills really suck, but, here goes nothing.

"Um, Yamada-sensei?" I hope this goes well, dang it.

"What is it, Guevarra-kun?" She turned to face me. Hmm, she doesn't look too Japanese. Wonder if she's only half Jap?

"Umm, how do I say this...? I can't seem to understand and deal with this uh... feeling inside me, and I know that we just met, but can we please... meet up later after school? I just wanted to um... ah... do something with you, even just this once..." I said, hands on her shoulders and maintaining eye contact. I heard that this makes communication more clear. Wow, she really is quite small.

"E-eh?!" Yamada-sensei seems to be flustered.

"KYAAAHHHH!" Screamed the girls in the classroom

"Guevarra-kun is actually..."

"Asking Yamada-sensei..."

"To have sex with him?!" the female student body screamed. Elaine just rolled on the floor, laughing her ass off. Why you no help me here?! Look at Ichika, he even didn't get what they- wait a minute, what did I just say? I did ask her to help me with the work, didn't I?

"G-Guevarra-kun, between a teacher and a student? This-this is..." The teacher said, furiously blushing. Chifuyu seems to have something else entirely different in mind.

"Try making yourself clearer, Guevarra." she said.

Fully understanding what I just said, I just face palmed on my moment of "genius".

"What I meant was that I was requesting for an after-school review because the basic concepts of the IS are pretty vague on me right now and I need a refresher." I replied embarrassed of myself and the sexual innuendo of my statement. Elaine couldn't stop herself now and tears started forming in the corners of her eyes as she continued laughing.

"I-Is that so?..." her tone had a bit of... disappointment?! What the hell is happening here?!

"Then, you have to work hard, Guevarra-kun! I will help you, and do your best! Okay?!" She said, every syllable taking her one step closing to me. It's quite hard not to look at her bouncing knockers, considering how near she is to me right now.

"Uhhh..."

She seemed to have noticed how near we are to each other and promptly hopped back. God, what were they thinking? And why won't Elaine stop laughing?

Later at dismissal...

Apparently, I seemed to have lost a lot of information whilst I was sleeping, because I saw Ichika being dragged by another female student outside. Elaine just walked by me and laughed, again. Dang it-

"Excuse me?" When I turned around, I saw a pretty cute girl looking at me. She seemed to be annoyed at my, but why would she be? She had blonde hair that was being held back by a blue headband. Her face and figure complement each other very well, and with her dignified manner and way of walk, she seemed to be some sort of elite.

What could she want from me?


	4. My First Day in IS Academy

**Chapter 4: My First Day in IS Academy**

**Disclaimers: Only the Ocs are mine. The rest aren't.**

**Continuing from the last chapter...**

In the current day society, due to the IS, women are given a higher status. Obviously because they are the only one that can use the oh-so-powerful IS. Consequently, males became the slaves of society. In fact, it's quite common to see a random unfortunate male being picked on (or worse, abused. And not in a _good_ way.)

Really, I didn't even think that Tabane was a feminist. Must be a glitch in the system, but she got too bored to even fix it. Ughh...

"Are you listening? Hello?"

"Eh? Ah, yes, forgive me." True, she is cute, but I won't give a damn if she is as bitchy as the other girls outside.

"Wait a second! What are you saying? Just with me talking to you should make you feel greatly honored. Shouldn't you have a better attitude towards me? Although I do appreciate your pardon."

"..."

I knew it. More often than not, most beautiful women's beauty tend to stop at the epidermis.

Being able to use an IS means that you become a part of the military of the respective country you are a citizen in. Thus, like the jet fighters of old, they are given high regard, and only females are IS pilots. But the difference between that and flaunting power is that it is very prone to be used for not-so-noble deeds. Hmmm... I think I saw her somewhere before... Aha! Both the news and the crash course informed me of the representative candidates of each major country and most minor countries. She is Cecilia Alcott, from England.

"Cecilia Alcott, Rep. Candidate of England." I said. Time to put up the "emo/leave me alone or I'll haunt you forever" facade.

"At least you're not as ignorant as I first contemplated!" Contemplated, huh? Do you even know what that word means?

"Wait, do you even know what a representative candidate is?"

Wow, here she is, bitching about being a representative candidate bla bla bla, while not realizing that I may not be a representativee candidate, but even better, I AM the representative, Hmmm... Let's see just how bitchy she can get.

"I... forgot. What was it again?" I said, laying the trap. Right now, my brain courses, preparing for a counter attack to any insult she fires my way. Bring it on! Wait, maybe I'm being a bit too harsh. Let's start nice and slow...

PAK! Several of my classmates fell to the floor. I tried my best not to laugh out loud. Who would've thought that my trap will work THIS effectively?

"Ahaha, ahaha..."

"Ahh?"

"Are, are you serious?"

She is, well, basing from my point of view, really angry right now. Oh sweet lemons, that face. This is almost too much for me to handle. Unfortunately for me, she didn't explode that quickly. Hehehehehe... This will be fun...

"I can't believe this, this is really quite unbelievable. Though this is a land to the far east, this is not some under-developed country. This common knowledge, common knowledge. Don't tell me you don't have a television..."

Hey, hey. I do have one, but I rarely, if never, use it.

"What's a representative candidate?"

"The pilot of a country's IS is decided from the pool of represebtative candidates, which means the elites... you should be able to understand what the words mean,"

"Now that you mentioned it, that does ring a bell." Seriously, she can't see that I'm just playing dumb? Not even my friend Kevin can get fooled this long, and that's saying something.

"That's right, we're elites." Wow, talk about a resurrection of the ego. She then proceeded to point her finger at me, a few inches away from my nose.

" It's a miracle for you to get into the same class with the chosen ones... you should feel blessed. Do you realize the situation that you're currently in?"

"Is that so? How _**fortunate**_ of me." Extra thick sarcasm, best served cold.

"... Are you trying to make a fool out of me?"

"Wasn't it you who told me how lucky I was?" The traps that I carefully laid out earlier are now starting to spring in sequence... Huehuehuehue! Emmanuel es numero uno!

"Why you- In the first place, you know next to nothing about the IS, and yet you were able to make it into this school. When I first heard that you were one of the only two males in the world who could pilot an IS, it had me expecting a lot more of you."

"Many people die from false expectations..."

"Humph! Because I'm an elite, I'll even be nice to people like you."

"So that's nice? Wonder what's your nasty..." I almost said that, but I controlled myself for now.

"If you don't fully understand anything regarding IS... Hm... if you cry and beg me, I may be inclined to teach you, After all, I'm an elite amongst the elites, the only one who defeated an instructor during the entrance exam."

Seriously? Those women? Hell, I've seen many men, even those who are disabled, who can defeat them. If only they can pilot the IS...

"If you're talking about the entrance exam, I also beat the instructor that I faced."

"Huh...?"

Oops, a chuckle escaped my lips. Speechless?

"But, but I heard that I was the only one?"

"The only female, I assure you."

Whoopee. The sound of a bloated ego starting to crack slowly... Damn, now I'm starting to sound like Cicero from Skyrim!

"In, in other words, I'm not the only one?"

"No shit, Sherlock." My chuckling started to become a small laughter. Damn, it's hard to control this... pfffttt...

"You! You said that you beat an instructor right?"

"Yeah, I just did."

"Something like that? What do you mean by that?"

"Calm your... nerves, you're getting too haywire, bruh." Phew. Almost said the… other word.

"How? How can I calm down after hearing that-?!"

**Ding Dong Ding Dong!**

The bell for the next period interrupts our banter. What a party pooper.

"...I, I'll be back! Don't run away! Alright?"

Yohohohoho! The party has just begun! I let myself out a hearty laugh as Elaine came in and just looked at me weirdly.

"What happened?"

"Pffft, hahahahaha!"

"Oh, I think I now already. Someone got trolled, right?" The only answer she got was another bout of laughter.

Oh look, it's Ichika, and she's back with the girl who dragged him away. Well, best make allies with the only other male for miles around.

"Hi, nice to meet you." I tried.

"Oh hi. My name's Orimura Ichika. Yours?"

"Emmanuel Guevarra, at your service. What happened to you earlier?"

"Oh, that girl? She's called Houki, and she was my childhood friend."

Childhood, eh?

"Well, good luck with her." I smirked

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Nothing..."

Ah well, here comes the teachers. Chifuyu replaced Maya and discussed all about IS weaponry and their characteristics. Hell, knowing Tabane, she probably gave me some wild weapons, as the usual sword, shield, guns and such I already know how to wield to a certain extent, and I'd rather get used to my own IS rather than the standard loadout. Oh look, even Maya took out a notebook and a pen. This might be somethiing big, better pay attention for now.

"Ah, but before that, we have to decide on the class representative who'll take part on the inter-class tournament."

Oh no. No no Elaine. No no no! She's scheming again! See that wicked smile? See it?!

"The class representative will be like a president of sorts to the classroom. In addition to competing in the tournament, they will also attend in the student council meetings and committee meetings. Furthermore, the inter-class battles also serve as a measuring gauge of each enrolled class' ability, skill and strength. Though there isn't much difference now, competition will encourage further improvement."

Oooohhh... A challenge, eh? My blood's boiling from the very thought! Though I should've been more careful, because I suspect that Elaine detected my battle lust.

"Sensei, I recommend Guevarra-kun!" Elaine stood up and pointed at me. FUUUUUUU-

"Wow, that's a great idea!" Hey, hey, hey! Point at Ichika right here, not me! Nope dee dopey dope. I'm bad at interaction, dammit! Someone was about to recommend somebody else, but Elaine whispered to her and they both giggled, stopping the other's attempt. Stop torturing me, Elaine! End my misery!

"Wait, what!" I stood up. Seriously, I don't like the way things are going. I looked at Ichika for help, but he only gave me a thumbs-up. Do you think this is a mudda-fucking game?

"Sit down, Guevarra. This is the decision of your classmates, you can't do anything about it."

"Can't I cancel that? I have my own rights, y'know!"

"Well, not here."

Just as I was about to give a 5-minute speech on the human rights of denial, I got cut off by a highly enthusiastic voice. The voice that belonged to the very same person that I trolled a while ago.

"Hold on a minute! I can't accept this outcome!"

**Pam!** Cecilia slammed her hands against the table as she got up, her figure became a bit more... alluring? No, stop it, this is a prey, not a mate. I won't find someone with an attitude like hers, well, as far as she showed me, satisfactory and fulfilling as a mate. On an entirely different note, having someone like her around might smoothen up my edges in socializing...

"This kind of election outcome is totally unacceptable! Anyway, having a man as our class representative is totally disgraceful! Do you expect me, Cecilia Alcott, to endure this embarrassment for a whole year?"

That's right... Keep talking... That a girl... Elaine is looking at her like Cecilia's a murderer. Ha! One-up!

"In terms of ability, it's obvious that I should be the class representative. It'll be troubling if some rare far south-eastern ape is to be chosen because of popular demand! I came to this island country to polish up my IS skills, and I have no interest in joining a circus!"

"Isn't that right? Only the most talented can be the class representative, and I'm the most suitable one!" Wow, so immature. Really. She could not hold back her excitement. Speaking of which, as Cecilia's getting more into it, her choices of words were getting more and more insulting and offending. Though I didn't want to be the class rep, even an airhead with a skull dense as a brick would get upset from being ridiculed to such an extent.

"In the first place, living in such a country with an underdeveloped level of culture is excruciatingly painful for me-"

It's time.

"Nobody asked you. And even if your beloved Britain is such a powerful country, it isn't as perfect as you would like us to believe. How many years has it been that you've won the world's worst cuisine award?" I smirked.

"Wha...?!" Really, her reactions are priceless. Somebody should take a video of what's been happening right here in this classroom. She is FURIOUS, red as a tomato, and it's quite hilarious, with all her trembling and teeth gnashing-

"You, you, you! Are you insulting my country?"

At last, the fruit of my efforts has arrived.

"It's a duel!"

She slams her hands on the table. Again. Hah, the hurt pride of a snob, really...

"Yes, that's more like it. I wager you won't even stand a chance in a debate anyway."

"You talk big. Since you deliberately asked for defeat, I'll accept you as a servant- no, a slave!"

"Kinky. Didn't know you were into that stuff. But seriously? You, challenging me? Alright, how much of a handicap do you want?"

"Oh my, asking for a favor so soon?"

"No. I'm asking you how much should I hold back."

The whole class, save Elaine and Ichika, burst into laughter. Well, pride does come before the fall...

"Are you even serious, Guevarra-kun?" What does "kun" even mean anyway?

"Isn't a man being a stronger than a woman outdated?"

"Orimura-kun, Maybe you can pilot an IS, but that's just overdoing it."

Go ahead, keep on laughing. Chifuyu kept that stoic expression of hers. Elaine's face turned grim, while Ichika looks like he is lost and doesn't know why are they laughing.

Well, it may be true that women are currently stronger than men, but it is only because of their superior armaments. True, there might onle be a few who can pilot the IS, but all females are potentially IS pilots. In contrast, men have no chance whatsoever. Because of this, it was said that if a war breaks out between men and women over a difference in views, it would be a stomp. No, scratch that, roflstomp. That's because the IS is in a totally different league from the classical fighter jets, tanks, and other war machines used pre-IS era.

"Whatever floats your boat I guess. No holding back It is."

"Yes, that should be the case. More accurately, it bothers me that I don't have to give you a handicap. Hum hum, saying that men are stronger than women, Filipino males really have quite a sense of humour"

Go ahead, lavish in your ignorance. The Great Hunt has just begun, and the prey is a pompous fool who thinks she's some sort of goddess.

"Hey Guevarra-kun, it isn't too late you know? You can still get Cecilia-san to give you a handicap?" Are you fucking kidding me? This is what I wanted, a challenge! Not a stomp.

"There's no need to."

"Ha! A representative candidate is being looked down on. Or is it that you don't know what an IS battle looks like?"

I saw some battles on both TV and the Internet and I must say, it's really quite identical to the game called Gundam, except that the IS is actually an extension of you, thus if you wanted to, say, swing a sword, you swing your arms while holding the sword, and not push some buttons and push-pull some levers.

"Then, we have agreed to the conclusion. The battle will take place next Monday in the third arena. Guevarra and Alcott, make sure you are well prepared. Now, let's get back to the lesson."

The rush of battle is steadily coursing through my veins, making it next to impossible to stay focused on studying. Meh, I'll just think of how to counter Rumble on Solo Top instead. Hmmm...

**Some time later...**

Welp, that's that. Involuntarily, I was able to partially hear Chifuyu's lecture. The vocabulary part was chicken, but what dragged me to actually listen to her was actually the military terminologies. Apparently, there are a multitude of codes, numbers and a sort of "secret language" that may make no sense to the ordinary passerby, will make absolute sense to a nearby soldier. Well, if you want to play that game, I can make some basic sentences from the Dovah or Dragon language from Skyrim. I know, sounds geeky, but hey, to each his own.

As I was walking outside to catch some fresh air, I heard my name being called.

"Guevarra-kun! Guevarra-kun!"

Oh, it's Yamada-sensei.

"What is it, sensei? Oh, and please do cancel our appointment." I apologized. My match with Cecilia is the first real IS battle that I will have, so better make an impression and "whet my blade", so to say.

"No problem. Here is your key to your dorm room. About the luggage, it's already there."

"Oh. Thanks." Well, I guess Ichika will be my roommate, seeing as we're both males.

"Then please use this time and head to the dormitory. For dinner, please be sure to head down to the first-year dorm cafeteria from 6 to 8 PM. On a side note, each room has a shower, and there's a large public bath. The time to use it differs by school year... hm, well, currently, you are not allowed to use the large public bath."

"No problemo" Well, it is true that I have always wanted to try a public bath (Kevin said 'twas good, and I'm not aiming to look at naked girls' bodies, if that's what you're thinking.)

"Then, I have a meeting to attend to, so goodbye. Guevarra-kun, please head to your dorm room, and don't wander around aimlessly."

"Alrighty then, here it is, Room 1039."

I looked at the room number plate and inserted the key. Wow, talk about card keys, it really opened. I now feel like I'm in the Normandy. This is Commander Shepard speaking, huehuehue... That bed! So fluffy! Wheee! Wow, it really is very soft. Hmmm, so comfortable...

I was roused from my nap by the sound of Ichika screaming something about "Sorry!". Dude, really, you should stop screwing up. Makes me wonder if he does all this on purpose, or if he really is THAT dense. Probably being chased by that Houki girl, the one that he said was his childhood sweetheart- err, I mean, friend. Oh stop it you two, go back to your own dorm rooms, and get it settled with some good ol' naked wrestling. Seriously, they're being really noisy, and it disturbs the sleeping people in the night.

**AN: Sorry if it isn't the fighting scene yet! This was taking quite some time already. Don't worry, the next chapter really WILL contain the fighting scene, I assure you.**

**Stay tuned and review!**


	5. The Rise of the Black Legend

**Chapter 5: The Rise of the Black Legend**

**AN: From time to time, I might suggest some BGMs to play along the scenes included in this fanfic. It is not recommended, but it will sure be a better experience if you do, especially if you're like me, who imagines the scenes in my head as I read.**

**Disclaimers: Only Ocs are mine. The rest aren't.**

**The next morning...**

Growl.

I really shouldn't have done that.

Remember when I told y'all that my bed is really fluffy? Well, it really smells good too, and 5 minutes later I probably fell asleep. So that means that not only was I not able to eat, but I wasn't able to take a shower also. Good thing I didn't smell. Nevertheless, bath time!

Ohhh, the wonders of a shower. Well, I was used to the dipper-and-bucket style, where you fill up a large bucket with water, then get some in your dipper, then splash it on yourself. I'm okay with that, but I still feel better if I'm using a shower. Speaking of bathrooms, I myself wanted to try taking a bath in a bathtub, but I haven't had the opportunity yet. Sigh.

After a good 15 minutes sitting on the toilet, solving the mysteries of the universe, and then proceeding to take a bath (and keeping my guard up from that unseen evil entity), I wear my uniform (another set, mind you. The one I wore yesterday is in the washing machine down the hall.) and head off to the cafeteria.

**==Interlude==**

Now, I enjoy my privacy, and I hate it when literally everyone looks at what I'm doing, like what's happening right now. As a stepped in the line, everyone looked at me. When I took my orders, everyone looked at me. Even when I sat down on an isolated seat, STILL everyone keeps looking at me. Don't look at me, dammit! I can't focus eating!

"...how long are you gonna remain angry?"

"I'm not angry."

"You're not looking too happy."

"I've been like this since I was born."

Oh, it's those two. Wait, I thought Ichika was my roommate?... Aha, I see! Well played, Chifuyu, well played! Playing matchmaker for these two, eh? As they went to the line, I started digging in my_ tapsilog_. It's actually a conjunction of three words: _tapa, sinangag _and _itlog_. _Tapa_ is dried beef,_ sinangag _is fried rice and_ itlog_ is egg. It's quite balanced if you ask me, just add fruits and a little bit of vegetables. For my beverage I have hot coffee. Oh look, they're done getting their food. Looks like they got Japanese food (no sushi yet). They also ordered the same thing. Am I the only one who sees a pattern here?

"Oh look, it's the famous boys~~."

Good Lord, not this again. Sometimes, I regret going to IS Academy. This is one of those times. With that single female voice, a whole chorus of murmuring was heard througout the cafeteria.

"So, as I was saying, Houki-"

"Don't call me by my name."

"...Shinonono-san."

"..."

My ears pricked up on "Shinonono-san". Really, they're relatives? Hmm, wonder why Tabane never told me about a sister, or family for that matter. Well, if you think about it, it's just normal for her to isolate herself from her family, to protect them. Death threats to her really wasn't such a surprise, considering what she has done to the society. Are Ichika and Houki still arguing?

"Yo, Ems!" Oh, look who's here. It's Elaine, and she has cereal. Only cereal and orange juice. How can you even be that energetic if you only consume so few?

"Can I sit here, Orimura-kun, Shinonono-san?" She asked. Hmm.

"Well, it's not like you can't." Elaine then proceeded to sit in front of me, who is sitting beside Ichika. Oh look, other people, nay girls, are coming.

"C-can we sit here? Please?" Three girls now came here to sit with us. Hmm, providing this is a 8-seater, we still have one more place for occupation. Well, it's better that way, there's more space. Still, I just nodded at them.

"Ah~ I should have tried to talk to them earlier..."

"I know, right?"

"I-it's just the second day, nothing to panic over!"

Eh? Not interested. Well, not right now. Too many things in my head.

"Say, the people who rushed into Orimiura-kun and Houki-san's room yesterday are present as well!"

Ughhh... 8 first-years, 15 second-years, and 33 third-years all came down to our table and introduce themselves to us. Can't even remember a single one, too much commotion. Elaine seemed to notice my predicament, saying that she "forgot" something in my luggage, and asked me to get it. Whew, thanks for the save. Fortunately, I was done eating by that time (I eat quickly, it saves time), and so I was able to escape that congregation of females... and a single unfortunate male. Sorry, comrade. For now, I'll just do my devotions, since I wasn't able to do last night because I fell asleep on that comfy, comfy bed. Hmmm, there's still a good 35 minutes before the bell. Just in time.

**==Interlude==**

It's now second period, and Ichika seems to be distraught already. Well, can't really blame him. My own head spins when I try to apply physics to the mechanics of the IS. It's just absurd, really. Like some sort of dark magic. Anyways, we're having lessons right now, and Yamada-sensei is discussing the origin of the IS. I remember when I first came in contact with that IS. It felt... "right", like a master warrior unsheathing his favorite sword (or greatsword, whatever floats your boat).

"In other words, the IS was created originally for space work, so the pilot is covered in a special armor. Also, the armor has the ability to increase body functions such as the heart rate, pulse, lung capacity, amount of sweat loss and endorphins. This keeps the pilot in a stable state."

"But Sensei, is that really alright? Tampering with bodily functions like that?" A classmate of mine asked. Well, she does make a point. Having that machine tweak your body is kinda like the ultimate breach of privacy, or if not at least one of the ultimate breaches.

"It's not really that complicated. For example, everyone's weaing a bra, right? If one has that kind of support, there's no reason that it will cause any adverse effect on humans. Of course, it is not by your own measurements, but out of shape, then-"

"Ahem."

I made my presence, and by extension, Ichika's, known. I seriously don't want to listen to people talking about their bra sizes. I do appreciate Yamada-sensei's effort to let the class understand, but still. She then looked at me, then at Ichika, then back at me, dumbfounded. She then began to blush.

"Ah, that's, well, you don't need to, y'know, know about that. Ah, ahaha, ahahahahaha..."

All she can do was to rub the back of her head and laugh blankly, creating a subtle atmosphere in the classroom. I just narrowed my eyes at this. Some of the girls seemed to realize something, because they covered their breasts with their arms protectively. I'm not like that, you know. It was like this for a good 25 seconds before Chifuyu urged Yamada-sensei to continue on with the lesson. Well, that was awkward.

Under Chifuyu's prompt, Yamada-sensei continued the lecture, faking a cough to disperse the rough atmosphere.

"Alright! As I was saying, the IS has something similar to a human's consciousness that can converse with the pilot. In other words, understanding each other by living together. Mm, the longer the operation time, the more the IS understands the pilot's characteristics."

Huh, kinda like an advanced interactive AI that learns with you. Cool.

Immediately, a girl raised her hand.

"Senseit, is it like a lover~?"

Did you even have to say that? Even Elaine looks annoyed. There is a time and place for everything, and now's not the time for cheesy BS.

"Well, that, mm... it should be that kind of feeling. I haven't experienced it before, so I don't really know..."

Aww c'mon! Seriously, even the teacher? Chifuyu! Restore order! Ichika is also quite annoyed by this.

"Irritating, huh?"

"Hm? No, I just, it's just too much "sweetness"."

"Whatever you say, Ichika, whatever you say."

Dude gotta stop lying to himself all the time. And being dense as a brick.

"Is there anything wrong Guevarra-kun, Orimura-kun?"

"Nothing..."

**The next day...**

"Ah, for the rest of the time we will be discuss the maneuvers of an IS."

Besides practical skills and other unique subjects, IS Academy is basically in charge of all the basic training. We're also given 15 minutes of rest time, which is very much appreciated. What I don't appreciate is being swarmed by females. I once fantasized about this, but now I recognize the folly of wishing such idle fantasies.

"I say, Orimura-kun."

"Over here~ over here~. A question~ a question~"

They just can't seem to shut their traps. True, I was in that situation earlier, but I managed to swat them all away with simple answers such as yes, no and maybe. They probably realized that they won't juice out anything from me and so turned they their attention on Ichika, who is looking at Houki. Elaine, meanwhile, just took a nap. Hey, look. It's the teachers, yet nobody seemed to notice.

"How's Chifuyu-nee in her own house!?"

Pam!

"Break time's over. Scram!"

When in a bind, always pray that Chifuyu arrives. Mmm mmm.

"Oh yes, Orimura. Your IS needs some more time before it can be prepared."

Hmmm?

"There's no available suit. So wait a while, it seems like the school's making a personal suit for you. About you, Guevarra. Tabane contacted me. She said nothing about your unit and just asked me to tell you to be prepared."

Ichika looked lost, while the entire classroom started buzzing. Well, if you think about it, it isn't really very strange. Ichika is one of the only two males currently known to be able to pilot an IS. About mine, I just pray that Tabane didn't make it look ridiculous.

"A, a personal suit? For a first year, and at this time!?"

"Ah~ so good... I want to have my own personal suit soon."

Until now Ichika doesn't know how special having a personal IS is.

"Page 6 of the textbook. Read it out." I covered for Chifuyu. She's stressed enough as it is.

After reading for a few minutes. He now seems to understand the situation. Dude, the word "personal" should already hint to "special", don't you think?

"Erm, sensei. Is Shinonono-san a relative of Professor Shinonono...?"

Shinonono Tabane, the crazy genius who designed the IS all by herself. She was Chifuyu's classmate, and Houki's elder sister. No matter how many times I come in contact with her, 9he w9rd always comes to mind: "unpredictable."

"That's right. Shinonono's that person's little sister."

I don't think that's such a smart move, Chifuyu. Tabane is actually placed under an unique security that exceeds national laws. Though she's no criminal, her whereabouts are unknown. Even I get a hard time just contacting her. That's why everyone in the higher-ups feels quite paranoid. She herself doesn't give a damn though, and it's not weird if she contacts either me or Chifuyu from time to time to regale us of her "adventures". Amusing as it is, I rather not spend too much time on listening to how bla-bla machine something made some machine stuff that I don't understand.

Remembering her expressions and voice, a rather fitting description would be a "cunning sheep" whereas Chifuyu would be an "honest wolf". Rather ironic, isn't it?

"WHAAAAAAT~! This, this is great! We have two famous people's relatives here!"

"That that, how's Professor Shinonono as a person!? She's a genius, right!?"

When most people think of genius, what comes to their minds are people with thick glasses and a mountain of books and formulae behind them. People probably won't even imagine Tabane to be rather childish. Well, those that haven't seen her yet ,anyway. Also, I don't think Houki knows too much about Tabane. I never saw them together, or even contact each other. If you want information, you'd be better off asking Chifuyu, who, of course, won't reveal anything vital-

"I HAVE NO RELATION WITH THAT PERSON!"

Hmm, interesting. Another mystery to uncover about Tabane. The girls that surrounded her are also quite surprised of the sudden outburst.

"...Sorry for using such a loud voice. However, I'm not that person, there's nothing I can tell you."

She then looked outside the window. Then the girls settled down, disappointed.

"Then, let's start the lesson. Yamada-sensei, the command."

"Ye-yes."

Yamada-sensei seems to genuinely care about Houki too. Ah well, time for class.

**==Interlude==**

"Now I can be at ease, No need to worry about having to use the simulator."

Wow, she's really so full of herself. Ticks me every time.

During break time, Cecilia came over to my place and said this as she placed a hand on her hip, a pose that we shall dub the "Elitist Pose". Body language does tell a lot about what the other person is trying to say to you, you know.

"Oh my? The victor's obvious already? It's really unfair though."

"..."

"Oh my, you still don't know? Alright, let me tell you, an ordinary civilian that I, as the English representative of England, Cecilia Alcott... in other words, have my own personal machine."

"So?"

"Are you taking me for a fool?"

"Did I say anything about you being a fool?"

She then slammed her hands hard on the table. Dammit, stop making a mess.

"Wasn't it just mentioned during the lesson? There are only 467 IS in the entire world. In other words, those able to own personal IS are the elites among elites chosen from the 7 billion in the entire world."

"Uh huh..."

"That's right."

"People really like to have sex and make babies, don't they?"

"That's not the main point!"

SLAM! Dammit, half the stuff fell to the floor. Now look what you've done!

"I say! Are you really treating me like an idiot!?"

"You're what you say you are. I never said anything about you being an idiot."

"Then why are you rebutting me...?"

What?

Cecilia turned around suddenly. Peeking through, I noticed Elaine breaking her chopsticks, a tell-tale sign that she's pissed. Nevertheless, she just picked up an extra pair and started eating again.

"Ne-Never mind. As for whoever's suitable to be class representative, just don't forget about me, Cecilia Alcott."

Swinging her hair down with her right hand, she turned around and left. If she really wasn't so annoying, I would have found her, and her way of walking, attractive, sexy even, with all that flare.

"Houki."

Oh, Ichika is manning up! This should be fun.

"Shinonono-san, let's go and eat."

Thinking for a few seconds, he then followed up with...

"Who's coming along?" Dick move, bro, dick move. Not smooth at all. Anyway, I was getting hungry, so I fetched Elaine and we went over to the cafeteria to eat.

"What was that about, Ems?" Elaine asked.

"The usual, nothing to worry about."

"You find her cute, do you?"

"Originally. Of course, I was disapponted. Again."

"Don't lose hope on the female population, Ems. I wouldn't want to see my best friend become a gay. Not that I hate gays, of course. But still, being one of the only two male IS pilots should be a huge leverage for catching ideal girls."

"Meh."

**==Interlude==**

As we were eating, we witnessed Houki being dragged along by Ichika. Wow, never thought you could do that. Good job, mate! Keep it up and she might just- Wait, I think Houki's already have a crush on him. As much as I would have liked to see that, I still have to train on my combat styles, because I seem to have gotten rusty. Elaine then stood up and followed me, since I asked her to be my sparring partner for the duration of my training, which she gladly accepted.

"Hayaaa!" I said as I slammed Elaine's staff. She's quite well-versed with Wushu, you see. No one is getting a blow between us. Either it will be blocked and parried, or get dodged.

"You've improved, Elaine." I said, huffing.

"You too, Ems." She said, also huffing

"Let's rest for a bit, shall we?" I suggested as we sat down on the dojo. On the other side were Ichika and Houki sparring Kendo, and Ichika is getting his arse handed over to him. Well, that's not really a surprise, considering that Houki was Japan's national champion in Kendo. After a few minutes of shouting incentives for his surrender, Houki finally let him off and went to the changing room. Obviously, the girls that watched them started to murmur.

"Ready for round two?" I said. Break time's over. I then proceeded to pick up a staff.

"Getting serious eh?" She said, also picking up her staff.

"Please, if I was serious, I'd use a talk, time to fight!"

"Orrrryaaaa!"

Wood met wood as we attempted to strike each other. I then pulled back, like a spring, so that I don't lose momentum. She continued to forward the assault, as I kept on dodging, waiting for the perfect moment to execute a combo on her. At the edge of my eyes, I saw the girls now watching us. Snapping back my attention to the fight, I narrowly missed an overhead slam.

"Now!" I shouted as I dodged. Taking advantage of her split-second shock, I spinned around her and did a 1-2-3 strike at the back of her knees, at the small of her back, and at the neck. Not too strong to knock her out, but strong enough to let her feel it. If you're thinking why I struck said places, I struck the knee so that her feet weakens and her inertia drains dramatically, her back so that her upper body, especially the arms and shoulders, paralyzes for a short while, which makes her drop her weapon. Finally, the neck, to knock the breath out of her and to disrupt her senses. Of course, striking her back or the small of her back hard will have the same effect, but I don't want to hurt her.

Note that when you move around in a flow, your momentum rises, especially when you take advantage of the "spring effect". Try jumping, for example. As your feet hits the ground, your legs bend for a second, right? Kick back with all your strength and notice that you will jump higher, and that it doesn't quite tire you out as easily as manually doing multiple jumps. The same can be applied in combat, and so on. Momentum actually multiplies the force of your next strike, so it's quite helpful to take advantage of it as much as possible. The best part of it is that it also stacks previously gathered momentum, making the next strike hurt like HELL, and if you know where to hit, it's almost certain to grant you victory. Unless if you're fighting a berserker, then YOU run like hell. They feel little to no pain, so there's no point. I also devised a more "advanced" form of using momentum as a style in combat, but I'll discuss that sometime in the future, when I will use it already, not right now.

"Gah! I fell for it again!" She said as she slumped to the floor, body disoriented.

"Hahahahaha! Here." I offered my hand as she used it to lift herself up, since her knees are still shaking.

"Cheater."

"Nah."

"Kyaaaaa~!" The girls screamed. Eh?

"That's so cool, Guevarra-kun! Where did you learn that?"

"Eh? Well, I learned how to fight myself, and developed my own style. Of course, I would often borrow from other styles of combat, but I only use them as annexes to my style."

"Really? Can you teach us?"

"Sorry, it's a personal thing. Perhaps when I get to know you more."

"Awww."

"Hahahahaha!" All of us then laughed.

**Week 2, Monday...**

This is it. The day I fight Cecilia.

Last night I was contacted by Tabane. Apparently, for the entire system to work, I'd have to give it time to let it configure itself to me. Well, that sucks, seeing that the first time I will pilot it will be when I'm already about to fight Cecilia. This gives me a disadvantage. A HUGE disadvantage. Not only am I not familiar with the prototype that I will be using, this is also only the second time that I will pilot one. There's also the fact that I didn't study my prey Cecilia first (foolish on my part), and that I don't know what my armaments, and Cecilia's.

"Stop worrying too much" Elaine told me.

"I am not worrying. I am simply analyzing the situation. And the readings ain't good."

"Well, you did ask for a challenge."

"You make a point."

What's taking Tabane so long? I mean, I know I'm not in the position to complain about it, but still.

"Guevarra-kun! Guevarra-kun! Guevarra-kun!"

No need to keep repeating my surname, y'know. It's the greenette teacher Yamada-sensei again. Wow, she seems to be really tired, since her feet movements are quite... erratic.

"Calm down, sensei. Take a deep breath."

"Okay. Inhale~ Exhale~ Inhale~ Exhale."

"Okay that's enough."

"Mm."

What? She really held her breath!?

"Hey sensei you can breathe now!"

"Fuaahhhh~" Seriously?

"Well, what's wrong, sensei? Why are you here?"

What's that sound?

"Th-there! It's here! Guevarra-kun's personal IS, Black Legend!"

**BGM Play: A Hero's Return – Two Steps from Hell.**

At last.

"Guevarra, hurry up and get ready. You can only use the arena for a limited time, so make this match yours."

There's no need to tell me, Chifuyu.

"It'll be a piece of cake for someone like you, Ems!"

I thank you for the support, Elaine.

The cargo doors rumbled open, announcing the unmatched power that lies within. It's slanted, patterned fireproof let out a sound akin to the shouts of a great crowd, seeing the oncoming victory in hand. On the other side of the door, it slowly revealed itself to us in it's enigmatic splendor.

Black. Black as the deepest depths of darkness, yet shines in the sun. It's magnificent power awaits, ready to overcome any battle that it will face. It's been waiting, I can feel it. The eagerness of Battle, the thrill of the Hunt, the glory of Victory. It hungers for me to pilot it. Yes, we shall triumph above all trials together, my new friend, yes we will.

"Get moving and start mounting. We don't have much time, so format and fit all the settings during the battle from your own memory. You'll lose if you can't do that, got it?"

"Got it, Chifuyu."

I then touched my new partner. Strange. When I touched that first IS a few weeks ago, it felt something like an electric shock, but right now it felt... different. Instead of feeling a magnetic reaction, it felt more like... an embrace. It told me things, the things taught in the classroom. But unlike there, here I learned it immediately and with clarity.

"Lean on your back. Yes, just like that. You'll feel like you're sitting down. Next, the system will optimize itself."

As it started to wrap and fit itself to my body, a video link suddenly popped up.

"Enjoying my gift, Okami-kun~!?"

Oh, it's Tabane.

"Just, just-"

"Speechless~?"

I just nodded. You really ARE a genius, Tabane. There's no doubting it now. Probably ditzy, but genius beyond comparison. God probably spilled a full bottle of genius when He was making her (Tabane). Make sure you pass on your genes, ok?

"You're welcome, Okami-kuuunn! Just remember that you owe me twice now, okay~?"

I just nodded as I was still speechless. Did I even deserve these things?

It felt... amazing. My vision got wider and clearer, like in HD. After that, everything else followed suit. I felt like I'm in a constant high. Looking down at my 5'9 self, I smiled. Slim, yet toned muscles are evident throughout my body. Totally different from my previous near-obese physique. My clothes covered the scars that I gathered from my painful past. I then fixed my spiky black hair back to where the gel held it in place before. Finally, I used a mirror, and through my wolf-yellow eyes, I saw that scar that ran down my right eye, but all in all, looking good!

"Well~, I still got lots of stuff to do, so goodbye for now, Okami-kuuunnnn~!" The video link finally shut down.

_**-Seeing an IS in standby mode, the pilot's name is Cecilia Alcott, the IS codename is "Blue Tears". It's a long-range type suit, and has unique armor-**_

Hmm, it's still in a robotic voice. Probably it's not quite done yet in intializing.

"The high-spec IS sensors are functioning well, right? Emmanuel, are you feeling okay?"

"Yep, no problems here."

Well well well, Chifuyu is actually worrying, how sweet. We may not show it, but we're quite good friends too, same as Tabane. Since we are in the academy, we have to act professional because, as I said earlier, there's time and place for everything.

"Alright, here I come!"

I proceeded to head towards the gateway of the control room. After bending down slightly, the Black Legend was processing tons of data and formatted the primary setting in accordance to my body. Even during this very second, the surface of the Black Legend's continuing to change and shape itself. As the software and hardware were both updating, the values shown have reached an extend to such that I've never seen them before.

Thank you for the information, Legend. There's still 2.05718422 seconds before the doors open, and my prey, our prey, awaits there.

**BGM Stop.**

**BGM Play: Dragon Rider (Long Version) – Two Steps from Hell.**

"Oh my, so you didn't run away."

Cecilia snorted as she did that "elitist pose" again. Heh, not even Legend can be bothered to care about that.

The bright blue machine "Blue Tears" has the unique characteristic of having four rear fins on the back, making it look as royal as a knight.

The pilot, Cecilia, was wielding the large 2m long gun—a search indicated that it was identical to a six or seven caliber unique laser gun 'Starlight MkIII'. As the IS was originally developed for space activity, in principle, it'll float in the sky. Thus, it was not strange for her to wield a weapon that was taller than she is.

The arena was 200m in diameter, and the estimated time for a fired shot to reach the target was about 0.4 seconds. The bell indicating the start of the match has already rung, so it was not strange for an attack to come anytime now.

"I'll give you one last chance."

Cecilia moved the hand that was on her hip and pointed her index finger at me, and the muzzle of her rifle casually pointed downwards.

"Chance?"

"It's obvious that I'll be winning no matter what. Thus, if you don't want to end up being seen in a battered and pathetic state, I may as well forgive you if you apologize now."

Having said that, she narrowed her eyes at me

_**-Warning, Enemy IS pilot's left eye is in firing mode. Confirmed to have removed safety lock.-**_

Time to sortie.

"Legend. Give me a list of all the offensive and defensive instruments that you are capable of using right now!" I nearly shouted

_**-Affirmative.-**_

Bang! Damn, she's starting to rain lead!

Just in time, the list popped up. I looked at the defensive mechanisms first so that I can scan the offensives in security. One name there is "Deflector Aegis". Willing the IS to make an overview of it, it looks like the shields that the Sparatans used in the movie 300. It is a very large, circular shield that can cover my IS starting from my head up to the region right above the feet. If I ducked behind it, it will be very hard for Cecilia to hit me.

_**-Energy shields down to 432-**_

Shit! It really isn't a requirement to shout out the name of the object summoned, but it helps to summon It more quickly.

Willing it to existence, the Deflector Aegis appeared on my left hand. Immediately bringing it in front of me, I was able to momentarily stop Cecilia's fire.

"Ha! As if that big, unwieldy shield can defeat me!"

Taking advantage of her 5-second speech, I quickly chose the PVAR (Pneumatic Valve and Rod) Rifle, and spawned it on my right hand. Quickly thinking of a plan on how to close the distance between me and Cecilia, I am forced to hide behind the Aegis for now.

"Coward!" She said as she started to get annoyed. Damn, it's too rowdy in here! Dismissing the Aegis, I switched to the offensive, took aim and fired at Cecilia. I switched it's setting to burst-fire so that I can save bullets while being able to do multiple instances of damage.

Brrrt brrt brrrt! Pung! Pung!

Damn, this is taking too long, it's been 15 minutes already, and I've been on the losing side. True, I was able to knock down her energy shields down to 459, but mine is already about 133 remaining. Worse, I'm already running out of bullets, and she doesn't seem to have any ammunition problems at all. If this was on-the-ground combat, I wouldn't have these problems!

"Stop spraying bullets all over the place! Your aim is ridiculous!" She started laughing.

"Then it's time to end this I guess." The fins at her IS then started to fly off towards me and shoot me with lasers. Dammmmiiittt! Even the sun's getting in my eye!

Wait, that's it!

I quickly spawned the Aegis and dismissed the PVAR rifle. The Deflector Aegis really lives up to it's name, because when a laser from the fins struck it, it was deflected to the side and hit another fin.

"Ohohoho, not only a coward, but a cheater also!"

Scanning the list for some sort of melee weapons... Why didn't I even check here before!? Seeing a chain-hook mechanism, I quickly spawned it at my right hand.

_**-Energy shields at 87-**_

The sun briefly peeked through the clouds. Jumping to the opportunity, I quickly adjusted the angle of Aegis so that it reflected the sun's rays to Cecilia's eyes.

"Wha-!?"

Snapping to action, I launched the hook. It struck at the foot of Cecilia's IS, which I then pulled back with all my strength. I then replaced the Aegis with a Greatsword, another cool thing I found on the offensives. It looks just like a normal Greatsword, but I'll take what I can. Timing my strike, I slammed the blade directly to Cecilia's IS, smashing at her shields.

_**-Enemy energy shields at 401-**_

Holy damn! That's how strong it is!? Looking at my Greatsword, I noticed the lines at it's blade started to glow faintly in wolf-yellow. Ohohoho, this is interesting, interesting indeed! Cecilia then started recovering from her stupor, which is quite unfortunate because I am right IN FRONT of her. She then started to cover fire.

_**-Energy shields down to 12-**_

I then tumbled to the side and struck her IS at the feet (we are at the ground at this point), which caused her feet to fly in the air.

_**-Enemy energy shields down to 346-**_

Following up on my combo, I then slammed the Greatsword at her torso area, hitting a sweet spot at her IS armor. The Greatsword is continously gaining luminosty with each strike, just as my adrenaline is.

_**-Enemy energy shields down to 298-**_

Cecilia then tried to block, screaming obscenities at me. I merely continued my assault as I sliced her rifle, Starlight MkIII, in half because she tried to use it as a blocking mechanism, failing miserably. I then spawned my chain again and used it to fling her round and round and finally send her flying.

_**-Enemy energy shields down to 177-**_

Swapping my Greatsword and Chain for a Spear, which can either be held with the Aegis, Spartan style, or be used in fighting, Wushu style. I charged at her and struck her repeatedly.

_**-Enemy energy shields down to 53-**_

Unfortunately for me, she recovered fast enough to shoot a net at me, breaking my combo immediately. As she was about to shoot me with her pistol, I finally finished my combo by throwing the spear at her, which, unbeknownst to me, has minute boosters at it's flanks, and so flew straight and true to the target. SCORE!

_**-Enemy energy shields down to 0-**_

_**-Energy shields down to 0-**_

What...?

It seems that she was able to fire a last shot before the spear hit her, causing our shields to deplete completely at the same time.

" **IT'S A TIE!"**

**AN: Sorry if the battle scene isn't very exciting. I was actually having trouble how to write down what was playing in my head. If someone could help me with the battle scenes, I'd appreciate it very much. Oh, and in this chapter Emmanuel's ****IS isn't in First Shift yet.**

**Stay tuned and review!**


	6. Afterthoughts

**Chapter 6: Afterthoughts**

**AN: Sorry if it's quite short. I am uploading this now because the next one may take quite some time before I upload it. Oh, and I'm open to OC insertions, though only very few. So if you want to see yourself in this fic, just type it out in the reviews section or PM me, and we'll see if we can insert your OC in the story. Finally, please review. It is my only way (besides PM-ing) to know your thoughts on the fanfic. Of course, I want to improve and thus I want to know your feedback. It's not required, but it will be very much appreciated .**

**Disclaimers: Only the Ocs are mine. The rest aren't.**

"**IT'S A TIE!"**

Well that's new. I really thought I was going to win back there. Wait, why am I glowing!?

***wiiiiiiiyyYYYUUUUUUUUUU~!"**

It's making a noise... wait, wait, I read about this in the manual. It's...

**-*FIRST SHIFT!*-**

the First Shift.

**BGM Play: Umineko BGM – Dream End Discharger**

Then, it started to hum and make "cracking ice sounds".

**-*PTSSS!*-**

The wolf-yellow aura that enveloped my IS suddenly shattered into minute shards, bursted to different directions, then started reforming my IS again. What once looked like leather gloves on my arms and hands, became pure black gauntlets, while my feet's leather boots became pieces of black feet armor akin to those knights of old, but thicker. My back's standard-issue IS "wings", or boosters, became larger. My whole IS seemed to shift it's entire existence, making its features, especially the "armor" and edges, more pronounced. At my shoulders, black spiked pauldrons formed, with two black "belts" tied to me, making a "X" figure with a wolf insignia in the middle. Finally, all throughout my IS some sort of "veins" can be seen in wolf-yellow color. Reminds me of the TRON Legacy movie.

"**Ladies and gentlemen! It seems that we have just witnessed Guevarra-kun's IS First Shift!"**

"Wha-!? So you fought me to a tie only with default settings!?"

"Yeaahh... That seems to be the case. Good game, well played." I then reached out my hand to Cecilia, who responded by shaking my hands. I believe in good sportsmanship and friendly competition, and it should be always like this. Yes, I am talking about you, online toxic players.

Tabane, truly you are epic. The next time I see you, I'm going to treat you whatever you want, as long as I can afford it and it is in my moral bounds.

We then returned to our respective hangars.

**BGM Stop.**

"Well, it's better than losing. You weren't that stupid in aiming before. What happened, you idiot? Now look what it cost you. Your victory." Chifuyu reprimanded.

"It was an air battle, and it was my first gunfight in the air. Also, I'm only good at gunfighting if it's on the ground, because it has more cover and the enemy's movements are constrained." I replied. It was really annoying and embarassing for me back there during the gunfight.

"It seems that you have gotten sloppy, Guevarra. From now on, you are to train in using your IS as much as possible. Train at least once a day, especially in your gun usage." Chifuyu ordered. Well, it's for my good anyway, and I need to be able to use a gun decently in IS fights, in case I fight someone like Cecilia again, who specializes in ranged warfare. True, I am really good at melee, but what's the point if I can't reach the target anyways?

"Got it. Wait, how am I supposed to train alone?"

"Go find a training partner. Putting that aside, the IS is in standby mode now, but if you call it, it'll deploy right away. However, there are rules to this, so study it closely. Here it is."

Talk about thick! Why do all the IS books have to be so thick!?

"That's it for today. Head back and rest up. I expect more of you, Guevarra. Understood?"

"There you are. Let's go!" Oh, it's Elaine.

"Really, I thought you were gonna lose back there. And your aim, hilarious!" She started laughing at me. I know it already, stop reminding me of my ridiculous aim.

As we were walking back, Elaine told me about the reactions of our fellow schoolmates on the fight. Some were supporting Cecilia, while others were supporting me. Many thought that I will be defeated easily, but they were shocked when I suddenly gained the upper hand. Well, overconfidence is indeed a no-no in fights such as these. After talking about other miscellaneous stuff, I elected to return to my dorm room. She agreed and did likewise.

Turning on the shower, it soothed my sore muscles. I then thought back on the fight, and Cecilia, in general. Why does she act that way? I was blinded by my own anger and did not consider the fact that Cecilia might be hurting inside too. If that's the case, I have failed at the extent of being friendly. But that's the point in the first place, right? Sure, Elaine and the others are exemptions, but that's it. Still, there was something that I had with Cecilia in common. Though I cannot point a finger at it, I'm sure there's something, something that binds me and her together. Thus, I decided to protect her, to protect her from both the evils she knew of, and the imminent evil that is on the horizon that nobody, save a few, knows that most people would not even imagine coming.

"Nobody harms my friends and loved ones and gets away with it. Nobody..." I said to myself as I clenched my fists in the shower, water flowing through my scarred body.

**POV Change: Cecilia**

Psssshhhh...

The shower is constantly spewing water at Cecilia's naked body, flowing through her curves. Her well-proportioned body is quite rare among Causcasians and her beautiful streamlines, to Cecilia, was something to be really proud of. Those long legs were shiny, silky and beautiful, and they could not only compete with those of an idols, but would likely even beat them in beauty.

That was balanced by the fact that her breasts were a little bit smaller than most girls her age. Still, if compared to the Japanese, they were more than enough, enough to be called big. Of course, this made her body profile stand out all the more.

Cecilia continued to let the water rush down her breasts as she thought of the match.

True, she was able to shoot Emmanuel at the last moment before she got hit by the spear, but that was because he was fighting in default settings. Right after the tie was announced, his IS started to undergo its First Shift. She can't help but wonder what the result would have been if she was fighting him in his full power instead. Personal IS in default settings are in a 30-75% handicap, and in Emmanuel's case, it seemed to be around 40%. Had he been in his full power, Cecilia would have a very slim chance of winning. Her only hope by then would be to stay out=of-range, which would be very unlikely with that chain.

Nevertheless, Cecilia always strived to win. To her, life is a race. If you were too slow, you would get trampled and die off, unnoticed. That's why she worked hard to achieve what she has now. Thus, the recent match bewildered her maiden heart. Obviously, she was not contented. It made her feel uneasy, uncomplete; like the day isn't over yet. But what can she do about it? It's already done, and time cannot be reversed. Thene, she remembered her foe.

She remembered that guy with strong-willed eyes. Yet, there was something in those eyes, something that they had in common that she cannot place.

That look often reminded Cecilia of her father.

Having married into a wealthy family, her dad must have felt extremely inferior to her mother, and having such a father during her childhood, Cecilia carelessly thought that she didn't want to marry such a man like her father. After the IS rolled out, her dad became even more sulkier, to such an extent that her mother thought of him as a disappointment and stopped talking to him altogether.

Her mom was already an impressive woman. Even before the advent of IS, she was managing multiple companies, and was an accomplished person. Cecilia always looked up to her mother as an example that she thought was the embodiment of the ideal woman.

Sadly, her parents are dead. They died in an accident 3 years ago.

Why were they together on that particular day, even when they had always worked apart, was still a mystery to her. Though there was once a multitude of conspiracies and wild theories, the scenario of a cross-country railroad crash just doesn't make it fit.

Then, swift as an arrow, time passed.

Cecilia had a vast inheritance. In order to protect it from those who aim to steal it, she studied hard to learn everything, and during an IS suitability test that was part of her curriculum, she got an A+ grade. Hoping that she would maintain her nationality, the government came up with all sorts of generous offers and conditions; and in order to protect her parents' inheritance, she immediately agreed. Cecilia was chosen to be the first test pilot of the 3rd generation IS "Blue Tears". In order to maintain operation info and battle experience, she went to Japan to study in the IS Academy, and there-

She met Emmanuel Guevarra, the ideal man who had the flames of perseverance shining brightly in his eyes. Yes, he is worthy, worthy of her attention, worthy of her... heart? Indeed, he was an equal. Rarely has she seen a man who thought of everyone else as his equal, and yet give proper respect. True, he had offended her a week ago, but that was all self-defense.

"Emmanuel... Guevarra..."

She tried to shout but all that she managed was a hushed whisper. Instead, something warm was starting to build up deep inside her chest. It gave off a gentle warm, like a fireplace in the cold winter. Yet, it also gave her a natural high, like she was constantly being chased...

Her heart is now pulsing without restraint. Cecilia gently stroked her lips. Something sparked in those pretty, wet lips. A desire, a strong desire to be touched, and it caused its owner incredible excitement.

This feeling... It is vague to her, rarely has she encountered it. Nonetheless, it gave her bliss everytime.

"What, what's this feeling in my chest...?"

Before she knew it, her heart has already fallen in that powerful emotion, ever happy to give it's owner joy.

"I want to know."

But the owner wants to know just what is this feeling, and what's behind its sudden appearance deep inside her heart. And what is Emmanuel's involvement in all of this?

"I want to know, I want to know about Emmanuel..."

The sound of water flowing echoed throughout the bathroom.

**The next morning...**

Something weird is going on right now. Someone please save me.

"Then, the class representative of 1-1 will be Guevarra Emmanuel-kun."

Yamada-sensei said happily, and everyone else was quite giddy. Only I, only I did NOT like this outcome. Then again, how did I even get this position in the first place? I'm absolutely positive that the match ended in a tie. And shouldn't there be a tie-breaker or something? Sure, the inter-class tournament might be fun, but I don't want to attend all those meetings. Ugh.

"I thought the match ended up in a tie? How did I end up getting this position?" I asked. Surely, there must be a mix-up. On hindsight, I should have given the position to Cecilia.

"That's because-" Yamada-sensei said, but was suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice

"That's because I gave up on it!"

Eh?

Cecilia forcefully stood up and quickly put her hands on her hips. Hmmm, "Elitist Pose "? Anyway, why did she resign? That's not liker her, as far as I can tell, to give up so easily on a position that she wanted. I pictured her to be an elitist and softcore version of Chifuyu. Also, she seems to be more... emotional today. Wonder what happened? Probably because she can't stand losing to me. But that wouldn't make sense because as she said, she just gave up on the position. Seriously, what's going on here?

"Hm, ending our match to a tie when you know you're losing is quite impressive. Yet, that's to be expected, since your opponent was this Cecilia Alcott."

Thinking back on my reflection last night, I let it slip. It's probably an elite thing.

"Besides, I have reflected on my actions for being unable to control myself. So..."

Ah, there's improvement! I approve of this. Keep it up and I might just...

Let's not go there.

"I decided to hand over the class representative position to 'Emmanuel-kun'. For IS piloting, having practical fights is the best way to improve. So, if you become the class representative, you will have lots of battles."

I'm not sure if that's geniune concern or something else entirely. Wait, She called me by my first name? Some weird shit is really going on around here that I don't know about, and this annoys me.

"Ooh, Cecilia's really professional!"

"That's right. Since he's one of the two sole males in the world and in the same class, we have to support him."

"Congratulations, Guevarra-kun!" Ichika said to me, giving me a thumbs-up. You really are dense to not notice how much I DON'T want the position. I just gave an awkward smile and looked back to Cecilia.

"Therefore..."

Couging a few times, Cecilia placed her chin on her hand. A new stance, eh? What should we call this then, "Philosopher Cecilia Mk.I"?

"Also, if this outstanding-"

Standing outside?

"-graceful-"

I remember you shouting a string of obscenities to me from the match, but meh. Probably just sheer frustration.

"-elegant-"

Well, she is quite elegant on her body pose. Just keep the belittling to minimal, if you just can't resist the urge to belittle someone.

"-and perfect-"

Nobody's perfect.

"-person that I am, were to teach you how to pilot an IS, you would definitely improve!"

Hmmm, Elaine's been pretty busy lately. Guess I'll just have to take up her offer. Also, I could learn a lot from her about aiming in IS battles. I noticed that Elaine suddenly winked at me and gave me the thumbs-up sign. No, not yet. Possible, but not right now, too much things in my mind already. Then again...

"_Honey, you're home!" Cecilia welcomed me warmly as I came home from work._

"_Indeed I am, darling. Have you eaten already?"_

"_No, no, I was waiting for you. Besides, I'm not hungry, so it's alright."_

"_Me too. Say, do you want to... sleep?"_

"_S-sure..." She blushed-_

Argh, stop it! Scumbag brain...

Waking myself from those... idle fantasies, I returned to the situation at hand.

"Definitely! Thank you, Alcott-san!" I bowed slightly. That's a sign of respect in Japan, right? As the saying goes: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

Is she... blushing? Nah, why would she?

"Just, just call me Cecilia, okay? We'll start later..."

Somehow, I detected a bit of happiness. Wonder why. Ichika then passed me a note.

"It's from Castillo-san. She said it's for your eyes only."

Hmmm. Opening the paper, it said...

"_Nice, Ems! Go go go! Finally, you're gonna land yourself a girlfriend. Soon, you're gonna get laid! GGWP!"_ At the bottom, there's a "You're the Man" meme with the blonde hair of the Derpette meme as the hair. FUUUUUUU-

Ah well. Things are going to be more interesting from now on. That's for sure.

"The class representative will be Emmanuel Guevarra. No one has any objections, right?"

"Nope." Everyone, except me replied. Unity is a good thing. Except if it's used against you.

"AAAAAWWWWWW MEEEEENNNN!"

**Stay tuned and review!**


	7. The Assignment Party

**Chapter 7: The Assignment Party**

**Disclaimers: Only my Ocs are mine. The rest aren't.**

"Well then, let's start practicing some basic IS maneuvers. Guevarra, Alcott, try flying with your individual IS."

It was the near end of April. It's currently the spring season, and you can hear those chicks (baby birds, mind you.) chirping new flora sprouting, and new fauna starting their wee wobbly steps. Of course, that's not to say that there's a lackage in "chicks" (human females) around me, but I'm not really interested at the moment.

So, today we are being trained in a Spartan regime by Chifuyu.

"Hurry up! A properly trained pilot doesn't need more than a second to deploy the IS."

How the hell does a machine like IS even pop up out of nowhere like that!? Putting that aside, I gripped on my new necklace, or my IS in standby mode. It's a black necklace, with a black jawless wolf head as it's pendant. Said pendant also has a wolf-yellow "gem" at the forehead, just a few centimeters above the middle of it's two wolf-yellow eyes.

I then started to concentrate.

Once the IS is optimized, it will remain with the pilot in the form of an accessory. Cecilia's earing on her left ear is actually the Blue Tears in standby mode, and my necklace is the Black Legend.

"Concentrate!"

Alright. Gripping my necklace tightly, I readied myself to summon my IS. I found this the most effective way to boost my concentration.

(Come forth, Black Legend!)

I shouted in my head. Damn, I feel like a Power Ranger. At that moment, I feel something like a thin layer of cloth or leather extend over my entire body. In just a split second, the IS itself followed suit and formed around my body. How the hell does the IS even do that anyway?

My body instantly became lighter, and all my senses connected to the sensors of the IS, enhancing it even further. In that instant, my body was equipped with my personal IS, the Black Legend, and I was floating slightly above the ground.

"Okay, fly."

After Chifuyu said that, Cecilia immediately complied and skyrocketed. Well, that was fast. My turn I guess. What I read in the manual was that the IS itself will take care of the "manual" stuff, and I just need to focus and use my "imagination" in order to control the movements of the IS, specifically the steering part. Alright, here goes-

**-ZHOOM!-**

Whoa! Too fast! Calm down, Black Legend! Are you mad or something?

**-I am not mad, Master.-**

Hm? What was that?

**-I am your IS, Black Legend. I will talk to you later, master. For now, focus on mastering how to effectively harness and wield my power, for our mutual benefit.-**

The large voice in my head then went away. The IS never stops giving me surprises.

"Emmanuel-san, are you alright?" Cecilia asked worriedly via the communication line.

"Yep, I'm fine. Are you fine?"

"Y-yes. Anyways, let's continue on, shall we?" She said, smiling. It was neither insulting, nor trolling, or anything negative. It was just a smile, a delightful smile. What's with the polar change in attitude? Ever since the match has ended, she has always been positive in our brief interactions and in fact seems to be a lot more friendlier than the initial behavior. Hmm, wonder if that's just a shell to evaluate me?

"Emmanuel-san, if you want to, I can teach you after school, We'll be alo-"

"How long are you going to keep lovey-dovey there, Ems, Cecilia-san!?" Elaine suddenly hooted. As I already told you, she is a very possible candidate. However, the current situation and the events that I have to prepare for does not allow room for romance. Well, at least for now.

Now that I look down, I can see very far quite clearly, even without using my enhanced vision. Which means the IS itself gives a very good buff on all your senses. Though, it can be exploited, like for example, a flashbang. I should definitely not allow someone like "him" to get his hands on such a powerful machine.

"Let me add on a bit right now, the sensors are still limited. The IS was orignially intended for space activity, and since the IS has to grasp objects at a distance of tens of thousands kilometers, it's to be expected that we can see so many small things at this distance so clearly."

Hmm, makes sense. Nice explanation, Cecilia. On the other hand, I overheard Houki explaining to Ichika how the IS works in general and here is what I was able to catch:

"Like a 'mm' feeling." "..."

"With a 'dong' touch" With a "dong" touch... Oh God I can't stop laughing...

"And also with a 'clang' mode" Am I supposed to expect a "cling" mode as well? On a more serious note, it is quite hard to explain how the IS works, which explains why I usually let someone else do the talking in explaining things.

It also seems that Ichika himself doesn't understand Houki's explanations. Fortunately, he was dense enough not to see the hilarious connotations of Houki's dialogue, because if he did, I would be the only remaining male able to pilot an IS.

"Guevarra, Alcott. Try doing a sudden dive and then come to a complete halt. The target is 10 cm above the ground."

"Hmm. Like a swoop?"

"Yes, like a swoop."

"R-roger. In that case, I'll be going first." Cecilia volunteered.

"Good luck." Well, if she made a mistake, she'll slam directly to the ground, and though she won't die because of the absolute defense of the IS, I reckon that it'll still hurt. A lot.

After that, she immediately dived. Impressive. Just like that, at the last second she was able to pull back and land safely. Nice work. Alright, my turn. I then imagined myself as a peregrine falcon about to dive on it's prey. Mimicking it's body shape, I thrust myself headfirst, with hands and feet closed, to the ground, creating a loud _whoooooosh_-ing sound. And just like the falcon, at the last 5 seconds before hitting the ground I spinned in the air gently so that my feet is the one facing the ground. It takes practice, but it's worth it, as I was able to descend faster by Cecilia, about 2.5 seconds maybe?

"Nice work, both of you." Chifuyu congratulated us. Well, it is a milestone for me, to do the falcon swoop near-perfect at my first try.

"That was impressive, Emmanuel-san!" Cecilia came up to me, smiling.

"Yeah, thanks. Never thought I was actually able to pull that stunt off quite nicely. You too, by the way, nice movements." I replied. Compliments can lift anybody's day, don't you agree?

"Alright, Orimura. It's your turn." Chifuyu then pointed at Ichika, who was deep in thought again.

"Yeah."

"Answer 'yes'"

"Y-yes."

"Okay, let's begin."

Ichika then turned to the side. Looking if anyone's on the way, he proceeded to grab his right wrist with his left hand and deployed his weapon, the Yukihira Nigata. It's virtually the same as Chifuyu's.

"Too slow! Practice until you can summon it in 0.5 seconds!"

If somehow Chifuyu was transpored to Ancient Greece, specifically Sparta, they would hail her as a hero and a teacher, once they get past the language barrier.

"Alcott, deploy your weapons."

"Yes!"

She then raised her hands to where her shoulder was, and then stretched her arm to the side. Unlike Ichika, Cecilia's didn't glow. Instead there was a flash of light. With just that, she was already holding on to the "Starlight ", her favorite weapon of choice. Her gun was also pre-loaded, and she only needed to look to remove the safety lock, which means in one second she was already prepared to open fire.

"As expected of a representative candidate. However, you've got to change your pose. Who are you aiming at when you point your gun to the side? Try and point it at the front."

Cecilia's pose reminde me of Yoko Littner from the anime Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann . Cecilia may not be as good as Yoko, but hey, snipers will be snipers.

"Cecilia, deploy your close-range weapon."

"Wha? Ah, yes, yes!"

This might get interesting. Apparently she was grumbling while she got called, so she wasn't really ready for Chifuyu's prompts. She then dismissed the gun in her hand and then deployed a new close-range weapon. Wait, no. She _tried_ to deploy a new close-range weapon. Emphasis on _tried_.

"Huh..."

The light particles just keep floating in mid-air, unable to form the desired object.

"Isn't it ready yet?"

"It, it'll be ready soon- ahh, damn it! 'Interceptor'!"

Welp. That is quite humiliating. What she did is called the "beginner's method". It is often used by, as the name implies, beginners, who have a hard time gathering their focus. 'Tis humiliating for someone like Cecilia.

"How long did you take? Did you really expect the enemy to wait for you in a real battle?"

"In, in a real battle, I wouldn't allow the enemy to enter my range! So, so there would be no problem!"

"Oh? But against Guevarra, you seemed to have easily let a beginner get close to you."

I face-faulted slightly. As much as I hate to admit it, but I really am a beginner in the IS.

"Th-that, that's because..."

Cecilia mumbled again. Not knowing what to say, she can't do anything but just accept defeat. Suddenly, she glared at me. At that moment, a signal came to the private frequency.

"It's all your fault!"

Dafuq?

"Be-because you chained my feet..."

Well, duh. What do you want me to do, just give up so easily?

"You, you better take responsibility!"

Responsibility for what? You are my enemy back then. What do you expect me to do, let you win just like that? I decided not to respond to those signals. Let her release some steam.

**Around 8:00 PM...**

"Guevarra-kun, congratulations on being the class representative!"

"Congratulations~!"

Pops. Pops everywhere. You know those confetti cannons that they use on surprise birthday parties? Yeah, lots of those. We are currently at the campus cafeteria, although why would they start a congratulatory party at this hour is still a mystery to me. Lack of time perhaps? Anyways, all of my classmates are here, along with some from the other sections. The party is at full swing. Problem is...

I don't want to celebrate! I didn't even want this position! There's even a 'Emmanuel Guevarra Class Representative Assignment Party" banner on the wall. Ugh. Did I mention that I HATE parties? Well, I mean big parties? I don't like being in the presence of too many people.

"You're real popular now, Ems!" Elaine came from out of nowhere and greeted me suddenly.

"Yeah. And I hate it."

"Aw, c'mon. Don't be so glum in your own party."

"I never wanted it in the first place."

"Look over here, Guevarra-kun. I'm from the Newspaper Club. I'm here to do a scoop on the hotly discussed freshman—Emmanuel Guevarra-kun's special interview!"

Hey, I'm not the only male! Where's Ichika?

"Ah, I'm Mayuzumi Kaoruko, nice to meet you. I'm the vice-president of the Newspaper Club. Here! This is my card."

Hmm... I don't understand anything written here, except the numbers which is probably her contact number.

"Then, then, Guevarra-kun! Please state your thoughts on becoming the class representative. Here!"

She then held the recorder a few inches away from my mouth. She really is a high school paparazzi.

"..."

"... Erm, don't you have anything to say?"

"... I'm hungry." I stated honestly. Really, I am hungry.

If we were in an anime, I would be seeing multiple sweatdrops by now.

"Even just a few sentences?"

I'm really hungry... Arrrr... Oh look, pizza!

"Oh yeah, how about having Cecilia say a few words!"

Thank goodness gracious, I'm really hungry! As I slipped away to the pizza boxes, I kept an eye on the proceedings over at Cecilia's.

"Ahem. Then, first, we'll have the ex-class representative make a statement, so-"

I then slipped back beside Cecilia after finishing my slice of pizza.

"Ahh, if it's going to be long, forget about it. Just take a photo."

"You, I'm not done talking yet!"

"No problem, I'll just make up something else. Oh, let's just say that you like Guevarra-kun."

"Wha, wha, what...?" I was forced to spit out the Pepsi that I was drinking when I heard that. Luckily, nobody is in front of me. Eh? Cecilia blushing? No way. She's mad, right? Right...?

"What nonsense are you spouting!?"

"What the actual-" I contained myself before I say something else again.

"That, that's right! What's stupid about it?"

She's glaring at me. Women really are the most mysterious creatures in the entire planet, if not the universe.

"Ba-Basically, you, you-"

"Alright, alright, that's enough both of you. Get ready for a picture!" Wait, what's that for?

"Wait what?"

Cecilia sounded rather surprised, yet she's... smiling?

"Because you have your own personal IS! Let me take a photo. Ah, it would be good to hold hands too!"

Hey, hey. Playing matchmaker? I felt some fidgeting and turned around to see Cecilia, well, fidgeting and peeking at me. Cu, cute. Now that I noticed it, her hair seems a bit more groomed than the usual. She really prepared for this, huh?

"Excuse me, but you'll give me a copy of the photo, right?"

"Of course!"

"Then, then let me go change my clothes-" Not wanting to waste more time away from the food table, I immediately grabbed Cecilia's hand and pulled her closer to me. I then put one arm around her and smiled. Hell, they'll make me do this anyway, then why not do it now? Is Elaine around? Good, she's nowhere to be seen. Feeling that my torso was grabbed, I then saw one of Cecilia's hands loop around the small of my back. Hey, that's a bit too-

*SNAP!

WOOP! Suddenly we got too many! Even Ichika got tided by the flow! Elaine, by now, was right beside me, and I put my other arm around her and smiled. I mean, it's just a friendly gesture, right? It's not like I intended it to have any kind of romantic meaning.

"You, you people!"

"Don't mind, don't mind!"

"Cecilia can't just have a headstart, right~?"

"Wouldn't it be great to have a class memory?"

Tapping Ichika's back slightly, I caught his attention.

"Any idea how to slip away from here?"

"I don't know."

"Looks like we're stuck."

"Yeah."

My classmates started to stare cheekily at Cecilia, who suddenly became silent. Really, women. Anyway, the party lasted longer than expected, but I managed to slip away to my dorm room.

**Later that night...**

"Ah! Finally!" I said as I lied down on my bed. Today's been quite tiring. Oh wait...

Oh yeah, I forgot to take my medication!

Just as I was about to wear my socks again, I heard a knock on my door.

"Emmanuel. Are you in there?" It's Chifuyu's voice.

"Yeah. Wait, I'll open the door." I then opened the door, and sure enough, there's Chifuyu. She seems to have brought my medication.

"Come in." I gestured. Chifuyu then went in and sat down on a chair. My room, in itself, is quite plain. The walls don't have anything posted on them, compared to other people my age who probably have large posters of half-naked girls there. I just like the view of a clean home, that's all. My room has of course, the two beds, one that I use, and one where my bags are on. Then, there's the kitchen, complete with an oven perfect for baking. Then, at the side, there's a long table with multiple chairs, where I set up my laptop. Finally, there's the bathroom. All-in-all, it's really simple, compared to Cecilia's "royal redux".

"You forgot your medication, Emmanuel." Chifuyu said as she opened the container that she brought, bringing out a syringe with a green fluid inside it. That's the nullifier. It serves to "nullify" my 'gifts' to an extent that it is back to the average human's. Why would I have superhuman senses and capabilities is a story for another time. If you are thinking that my gifts are casting magic and the sort, no, you're wrong.

"Here." I tossed Chifuyu a can of root beer. I know that she would have preferred real beer, but the school will get mad if I snuck out any to my room.

"Thanks."

"Will you be staying here for a short while?"

"Yeah. I was hoping to get a massage from you. Is it alright?"

"No problems, Chifuyu. By the way, don't you always ask Ichika for massages instead of me? Why now?"

"He's too busy handling Houki right now."

"Oh."

"Come here already. Relax your muscles."

She then removed the syringe from it's container and tied my upper right arm, so that the blood vessels are easier to hit.

"Alright, steady now..."

The needle then hit my vein. Chifuyu proceeded to insert the fluid in my system. Right at that moment, I started to feel woozy. Very woozy.

"Wh, whoa..."

"Alright, we're done. Don't worry about the initial dizziness, it will wear itself out before 30 minutes." She said as she put the syringe back into the container and opened her can of root beer.

"Don't you have any real stuff here?" Chifuyu then relaxed on the couch near the table.

"Well, none. Don't you have any?"

"Would I ask if I did?"

"You make a point."

As we were sipping on our drinks, a question suddenly hit my head.

"Chifuyu."

"Yeah?"

"Won't the serums that I inject every three weeks weaken my... capabilities?"

"No. On the contrary, it's even getting stronger. Very slowly, that's for sure, but it is getting stronger. The serums act just like a vaccine, only in reverse. While vaccines don't allow the foreign offensive substance from affecting the body systems, the serums actually help your 'gifts' in assimilating in your system again, but in a snail's pace. Wouldn't want you to go berserk like last time, do we?" She said as I handed her a plate of cookies. "Thanks."

"Ah, so that's how it works. Gotta thank Wangdu for that. Speaking of which, is there any news about...?"

"None, none as of now."

"Though we still have to be prepared. If 'he' would succeed in his plans, even if all the IS team up together, they will not be able to stop the army that 'he' will raise." I said grimly.

"Yeah." Chifuyu's expression then went grim.

"Ah, before I forget, the massage."

"Certainly."

I then let her lie down on my bed, her body facing the bed, so that her back is the one facing me. I then gave her a massage and while I massaged her we talked about various stuff that friends talk about. Sometime in the middle of the session, Chifuyu mentioned something about a terrorist group called the "Phantom Task". Ugh, another one to worry about. All that we know for now is that it's a international terrorist group. Not much else is known about it.

Finally, after a few moments of rest, we decided to not worry about 'his' nefarious plans and to solve the problems currently at hand. Even if the scenario that we were worrying about was to take effect, it will still take a long time, provided what happened 2 years ago. We didn't even realize that it was already almost 10 PM in the night.

"See you tomorrow, then. Don't wear yourself out too much." I said as I opened the door.

"Same to you, Emmanuel. Take care."

"Indeed. Good night."

"Good night."

The burdened teacher left the room in relatively lighter spirits. Ah, such are the wonders of having friends. Marvelous, aren't they?

**-Indeed, having positive human relations are beneficial to your welfare, master.-**

Oh, it's Black Legend.

**-At last, master. Please lock the door, lie down on your bed, and close your eyes. I need to talk to you.-**

What?

**-You will find out soon enough, master.-**

"Uh huh..."

I then went to my bed and did as my IS asked. Soon enough, I felt very sleepy...

**-Awaken, Master.-**

"Ugghhh..."

When I woke up, I'm still in my room, but there is something... different. There was a black wolf beside me now, sitting on the ground.

**-At last we meet.-**

The wolf then started to talk at me.

"Let me guess. You are my IS, right? Black Legend?"

**-Yes, you're right. I am the Black Legend. I am using this form in order to communicate to you easily.-**

"So... What did you want to talk about?"

**-Like what your teacher said, the more you use me, the more you will learn about me. I just wanted to greet you, master.-**

Master?

"No, no, don't me master. Call me 'Partner' instead."

**-As you wish, Partner. We will talk more soon. For now, rest up. Good night.-**

The dreamland suddenly faded to black.

**Alright, here it is. Next chapter will feature the Inter-class tournament fight with Rin! Stay tuned and Review!**


	8. Ichika's Second Childhood Friend

**Chapter 8: Ichika's Second Childhood Friend**

**AN: Sorry for the longer-than-average wait, I lacked the motivation to write for a little bit of time, nonetheless I am fine now (with the help of prayer and a very helpful co-writer). If you see any plot holes or problems with the fic, don't be afraid to type out a review. It will be for our mutual benefit. While I get better at writing (typing, actually) stories, you readers will be able to enjoy the fic since it will have better quality.**

**Disclaimers: The Infinite Stratos isn't mine.**

"Hey, Guevarra-kun. Have you heard about the rumor of the transfer student?"

It's morning right now, and as I was talking to Ichika about random stuff in the Academy, one of our classmates approached us. Hmm, where's Elaine? Normally she's one of the first people to be in the classroom.

"A transfer? But it's just the beginning of the school year! Shouldn't that count as an enrollment?" Ichika replied.

"He's right, you know." I followed. Based on what Ichika told me earlier, it seems that enrolling in the IS Academy is quite hectic. Exams, country recommendations, and all that.

"That's right. I heard she's a transfer student from China!" China, huh.

"Oh. Cool." The more the merrier I guess.

"Oh my, so is she aware of my existence and decided to transfare in?" Cecilia is doing her thing again, complete with the Elitist Pose Mk.I

"She can't possibly transfer into this class, right? There's nothing to be concerned about." Oh, Houki's here, and she's beside Ichika right now who's probably wondering just when did Houki got there.

"What sort of girl is she?"

Hmm, since she was transferred here, she's probably a Rep. Candidate. I just hope that she won't be as arrogant as Cecilia when I interacted with her for the first time. Meh, another class, not my problem. I then saw Ichika thinking.

"Dude, you worried 'bout that?" I asked. Why would he even be worried?

"Hm? Yeah, a little." Is that so?

"Good morning, everyone!" Oh, here's our Elaine, energetic as usual.

"What're y'all talking about?" She approached us immediately after she set down her bag on her seat.

"Well, someone said that there was a new transfer student from China."

"Really? Well, we have always been aroud Chinese and half-chinese people, are we?" Well, not really, only you. Still, in these last two years before I entered IS Academy, I've seen a LOT of people with Chinese blood. Not strange, since they are the most populous ethnic race in the world.

"Never mind that, don't you have other things to worry about, Ems?"

"Oh yeah, the tournament." So that was what was bugging me since last night.

"That's right, Emmanuel-san. In order to get ready for the Inter-Class Tournament, we'll be having more practice training. I will be your training partner." Cecilia urged. True, I do need training against enemies that are ranged or faster-than-average. Or both.

The prize given to the winning class is apparently a half-year's worth of free dessert coupons.

"I hope they don't have far-range IS units..." Man, do I hate fighting foes that are out of reach. Makes me feel useless!

"You can do it, Guevarra-kun! Protect our honor as men!" Ichika patted me at the back. Easier said than done, bro. Easier said than done.

"That's right! As a guy, how can you not have some self-confidence!" Hey, Cecilia, calm down.

"You have to win Ems! I want those coupoooonnnnnsssss!" Seriously, Elaine? You're making me an errand boy?

"We also want the coupons!"

"Yeah!" Everyone, stop gathering around me. I really don't like it.

"At this point, only the representatives from class 1 and class 4 have a personal IS, so it should be easy to win this!"

Suddenly, the door opened.

"Your information is outdated." Ichika suddenly turned his head around like he knew who the girl was. Said girl folded her arms in front of her chest and put a leg on her other knee while leaning on the wall.

"Rin... You're Rin, right?" So Ichika did know of the girl.

"What are you acting cool for? It seriously doesn't suit you." Hahaha, nice one Ichika!

"Wha...? Why are you saying something like that?" So, she really is only acting.

"Hey! What was that fo-" The girl, Rin, was hit by the mighty attendance book of Chifuyu.

"It's time for homeroom. Head back to class" Ha, Chifuyu really can shut just about anyone up.

"Chi-chifuyu-san..."

"It's Orimura-sensei! Hurry up and go back already, you're a bother."

"Y-Yes!" And with that, she scrammed. Welp, everyone that I met here so far is afraid of Chifuyu in various degrees. Ah, but I can't blame them, for I myself were once scared. But not anymore.

Ehh, second childhood friend of Ichika, huh. Interesting, interesting.

"So she's an IS pilot? This is the first time I heard of that..." Hm? What did you say?

"...Ichika, who was that and what is your relationship with her?"

"Is she, you know, your-"

"HURRY UP AND BACK TO YOUR PROPER PLACES, YOU IDIOTS!"

And so that's how our day began.

At the back of the classroom, Cecilia was drawing, but she is only drawing random, incoherent lines. From a normal teacher's point of view, it may seem that she is tactfully jotting down notes, but in reality she is only jotting down lines and what really is in her head is scheming. Scheming on how to improve her relationship with Emmanuel.

She thought that there was only one competition around: Elaine Castillo. Sure, the two of them really are just friends, the best of friends, but just friends. Still, there is a chance that that friendship might escalate to something more. Also, she has to compensate for the insults that she threw at him when they first met. Hmm... How, how do I do this...?

"Alcott."

"...How about I ask him out on a date? No, if I want a more effective..."

"..."

And thus, the mighty attendance book has claimed another head in its "struck hard" collection.

"It's all your fault!"

"This is all thanks to you!"

When lunch started, the first thing that Houki and Cecilia did was to scold Ichika and I. Houki is scolding Ichika, while Cecilia scolds me. I mean, c'mon, don't blame your ill-fate to us. Seriously. Just this morning, they were warned 7 times by Yamada-sensei and slammed by Chifuyu 4 times. Really, what's wrong? Y'all hungry or didn't wake up on the right side of the bed or something? It is said that blanking out when Chifuyu's near is like spreading sauce all over your body in front of a carnivorous predator, like a tiger for example, and shouting to it "Eat me!".

"Oh well, if you have anything to say, we'll talk about it over lunch. Let's go to the canteen first." Ichika interrupted. Nice save.

"Yeah. Maybe you two are often flying to dreamland because you're hungry."

" Sigh Alright, let's go and eat."

"Okay. It's not like I can't go along with you."

Having said that, all four of us now went to the canteen. Ichika and Houki both took Japanese set food, while Cecilia and I took the Western ones. On our way to the tables, we, or more accurately Ichika, was blocked by the same girl who was at our classroom door earlier this morning. The Representative of China, Huang Ling Yin. Her pet name is probably Rin, since this is what Ichika called her earlier.

"What took you so long, Ichika!?"

"Okay, okay, step aside. I can't hand over my lunch voucher and you're blocking the way for everyone."

"Ho-how rude! I know that!" She's holding a bowl of... ramen, I guess?

"The noodle will lose its spring."

"Speaking of which, it's been quite some time. How long has it been? A year? Anyway, how are you?" Ichika started.

"F-fine, I guess. What about you? At least get sick for once!" Rin countered.

"Dude, you might want to take a seat." I interjected. Reunions are cool and all, but we'd like to take a seat first to be comfortable.

"Oh, ah, sorry. Hehe." We then proceeded to take our seats at the table near the window.

"Rin? Since when have you been in Japan? How's aunty? When did you-"

"Enough questions, Ichika. My turn. How the hell were you able to pilot an IS!? I really spit out my red tea when I saw you on the news!"

Out of nowhere, Houki landed the hard question.

"Ichika, it's time you give us an explanation. Are you going out with this girl?" Hmm, wonder how this guy will answer this question.

"N-no-no-no, we aren't dating..." Rin stammered. Huh.

"That's right, why assume so much? We're only childhood friends, right?"

"..." Dude, that's just plain suicide. The girl likes you in a romantic way to some extent, and saying that was just... suicidal.

"Why are you glaring at me?"

"Nothing!" Apparently, Ichika is still clueless of what's happening.

"Childhood friend...?" Houki said surprisingly. Huh? I thought those three are childhood friends?

"Oh yeah, let me see... Houki's family moved away when we were in the fourth grade, right? Then, Rin transferred in the next year. Then, she went back to China when we were in second year high school. So it's been a year since we last saw each other."

Oh, so that's why. When one girl conked out, another one bumped in. Ichika, you lucky dog.

"Rin? This is Houki, another childhood friend of mine. She's the daughter of the dojo owner where I used to train."

A 5-second stareoff took place before they "greeted" each other.

"Nice to meet you. I hope we can get along."

"Same here."

Hehe, at this rate, they really won't get along. This is a brewing catfight over Ichika, and he doesn't even have a clue. Elaine also seems to pick up on this. Welp, looks like she will intervene again. This should be fun.

"Ahem!"

All of us turned around.

"It would be bothersome if you forgot about my existence. Representative of China, Huang Ling Yin-san?"

"... Who are you?"

Pfft.

"Wha- I'm Cecila Alcott, the representative candidate of England! Don't tell me...?"

"Um, I don't really care."

I silently laughed to myself. That's an epic response right there.

"Wha-wha-wha-"

Really, Cecilia should stop that "all high and mighty" act. It really doesn't bring her any benefit.

"I-i'll let you know that I won't lose to someone like you!"

"Really? If we were to fight, I would win easily! Sorry, but I'm really strong." Hmm, there's no insulting tone there, but it's still annoying. Of course, her claim may also be valid. Better not take chances again like I did with Cecilia. Speaking of Cecilia, she's beet red right now, flushed with anger. Or something like that.

"..."

"You, you really dare me...?"

Houki then put down her chopsticks whilst Cecilia trembled in rage. Again. The instigator, however, is just eating her ramen casually. Talk about confidence.

"You." She then faced me. Once again, the tone meant no harm. But, she has no... ladyness? Well, at least if we become buddies, I can treat her like "one of the guys", so to speak.

"Yo." I looked up from my Corned Beef lunch set.

"I heard that you're the class 1 representative."

"Yep. Nice to meet ya. Name's Emmanuel, but you can call me Ems, for short." I said, reaching out my hand for a handshake. Diplomacy before artillery, as I always say.

"Yeah, nice to meet ya!" She shook my hand rather nicely. Then she picked up her bowl and drank the soup from the edge of her bowl. Well, almost all of us are done now.

"Ichika." Rin then faced Ichika

"Oh?"

"Are you free after classes? If so, can I teach you a bit about your IS piloting?" She then abruptly faced away, trying to hide her... blushing face.

"That would be-" Ichika was interrupted by the sound of the table being slammed. Turning around, he saw Houki standing up with an annoyed expression.

"Hey, that's my job! He personally asked me to do it!" Cecilia, who was silent all this time, started whispering to me.

"It seems Ichika-san is being fought over. Ufufufu~."

"Yeah." Turning back to the brewing catfight, we watched on in fascination.

"I'm talking to Ichika right now. Would people not involved please leave?" Hahahaha...! Ichika is looking confused as ever. Typical Ichika.

"Who, who said that I'm not involved? He practically begged me to train him!" Oy you, stop lying.

"I didn't just pop out of nowhere, you know! I've known Ichika longer than you have!"

"Well, so have I! Besides, Ichika even used to eat at our house!"

"Is that so? Well, the same goes for me!"

"..."

"..."

I am now thoroughly convinced that Ichika is an idiot when it comes to romantic feelings and relationships.

"I-Ichika! What's going on!? You never told me about her!"

"W-wait, wait! Calm down! It's just that... we're just childhood friends, ok? And about eating at her house, I often went to the Chinese cuisine restaurant that Rin's family owns."

"O-oh, so it's just a restaurant... sigh you should have told us from the start!"

Oh, I forgot. Looking at my watch, it's almost time for class. Well, better pack up, for I have to go to my room for a quick brush of teeth.

"I gotta go ahead, still need to go back to my dorm room. See ya in class."

"Okay, Emmanuel-san!"

"Aight, Ems!"

"Ah, sure, Guevarra-kun!"

Houki and Rin were too distracted fighting each other in a verbal debate.

"What?"

"N-nothing."

We are currently at the arena, again. At the right side is Cecilia and me, while on the other side is Ichika and Houki. We are doing our respective training mock fights.

"Let's set the default shields at 500, to be equal. So, are you ready?" I said as I checked my weapons list. Hmm... Something changed with the weapons...

"Yes!" Ceclia said as she deployed her Starlight Mk. IV (the last one got destroyed, remember?). Aside from upgraded range and damage (ouch), it also has the "net" featured installed, so that Cecilia won't need to swap in the middle of a fight. She now also has the ability to spawn "mines" in the sky, like those ones underwater, but in mid-air, floating and waiting for me to hit them. There's also something about her ammo, but I'm not so sure.

Summoning my Greatsword, I noticed that it now has design and features, whereas before it was just plain. There's now the "veins" that are identical to the ones in my IS and my blade is also serrated now, but instead of small, spiked sides, mine is very large but it has large gaps in between. I think it's purpose is to snag the IS while I slash, so that the damage is even higher than before.

**-Partner.-**

Oh, hi Black Legend.

**-Your Greatsword now also has the feature to "change" itself. I have noticed that in situations like this, it is more effective if you would wield something fast, so I modified the Greatsword to have another form, the Katana. In this form, it sacrifices damage and range for speed and accuracy. Give it a try.-**

Following Black Legend's advice, I concentrated on the Greatsword... It glowed brightly for a second before the light faded and sure enough, it is now a katana. It has a single vein running through the blade.

"Wow. So you also got an upgrade!" Cecilia congratulated me.

"Nah, it's just the other form of my Greatsword. Never knew. Thanks anyways."

"You're welcome, Emmanuel-san. Ready?"

"Let's get it on!"

**BGM Play: Needless - Combat**

Gripping my katana tightly, I flew off in her direction. Noticing that my speed is faster than before, I formulated various plans in my head, mainly about how to counter that sniper rifle.

**-Warning, enemy has entered targetting mode.-**

Tch. Do I have any gap closers?

**-Well, the easiest one to execute right now is Ignition Boost, which is like a "dash" of sorts.-**

Alright. Here goes nothing...!

**ZOOM ZOOM! Piung piung!**

**-Energy shields down at 378-**

Her attacks still hurts as hell. However, I'll try not to use the Aegis this time. It's only practice anyway, and besides, what if there's a situation where I can't use my Aegis? Hmm, the blade is glowing beautifully, shining something like an "aura" of sorts, but only dull. I also noticed that the Starlight's attack rate is faster, because it's a bit harder, despite my IS being faster than it's default settings, to dodge her attacks.

***Ziung!**

I slashed at her, hard. It seems that wielding a katana is quite difficult from the get-go. It failed, however, as she sidestepped and shot me directly at the back.

**-Energy shields down at 300-**

Ouch! I then spinned, blade outstretched. Fortunately, Cecilia was still on the spot, preparing for another shot, which caused her rifle to be sliced in half. Again. However, she just smirked and spawned another one. Almost panicking, I spawned my chain to my left hand and swung it to her left foot, making the chain wrap around her left thigh and the hook dug and clicked on her armor.

"Tch! This again!?" Cecilia screamed in frustration.

I then pulled her and when she got in range, I sliced a clean line through her, straight from the crotch to the tip of her head.

**-Enemy energy shields down at 435-**

Not having done with her yet, I swung the chain back so that Cecilia's in front of me again and sliced at her like one would slice a carrot on a chopping block to really small pieces.

**-Enemy energy shields down at 368-**

Finally regaining her composture, Cecilia broke away from the chain by shooting her net at blank range, causing me and her to fly backwards. Hearing her gun click, she started opening fire as soon as she stopped hurtling through the air.

**-Energy shields down at 233-**

"Damn!" Spawning my Aegis, I brought it up in front of me for cover. Why doesn't her attacks...

"Ha! That 'Aegis' of yours might deflect energy weapon fire, but I'm using ammunition!"

Wait, so that's why her attacks don't fly away! Dismissing my Aegis and Katana for the Spear, I rushed at her while she was reloading. She sidestepped, and so I went Crescent Sweep at her. Again.

**-Enemy energy shields down at 376-**

"You never learn, do you?" I taunted.

"Aaaarrrrghhh!"

Taking advantage of her control loss over her IS, I dismissed the Spear and spawned the Chain on my left hand and the Katana on my right hand. Quickly focusing, I returned the Katana to it's original Greatsword form and launched my Chain at Cecilia, which barely hit. Pulling her again, I slammed at her torso, damaging her shields greatly.

**-Enemy energy shields down at 298-**

"THAT'S IT!" Cecilia raged again and brought out her rifle. Making several clicks, it then started to open fire at me. The difference is it fired at a very fast rate, almost like an assault rifle. She also started deploying mines around her. This is bad. I can't approach her without slamming into one of those, and even if I dodge them, her rifle is waiting for me. Wait, if this works...

"Hahahahaha!" She said, firing at me. I hope she accidentally hits one of her own mines.

"Ha! Having difficulty hitting me, eh?" I taunted again. Please, please deploy those bits...

"Wh-why you!" She then deployed the bits, which is a hard thing to do because of the minefield. Out of her rage she started to fire at me. I then quickly replaced the Greatsword with my Aegis, making the energy fired deflect to a mine, which exploded. The explosion triggered a chain effect on Cecilia, and soon enough she was defeated.

**-Enemy shields down at 0-**

Phew.

**AN: Sorry for postponing the Inter-class tournament fight. I had to check on whether I can still write properly or not. Stay tuned and review!**


	9. The Uninvited Guest

**Chapter 9: The Uninvited Guest**

**Disclaimers: The Infinite Stratos isn't mine.**

It's now May, several weeks after the day we (or rather, everyone else except Ichika), met Rin for the first time. I managed to alienate myself from the class (thankfully), save of course from our usual ragtag group, which consists of Cecilia, Houki, Ichika, Elaine and me. From time to time Rin will drop by and talk to us, but it's often very quick. She doesn't stay for more than 5 minutes.

"Emmanuel, the inter-class battle will be next week. The arena will undergo changes to accommodate the battle, so tomorrow is the last day that the arena will be available for training. Make it count." Chifuyu reminded me.

Yes, Chifuyu. Over the several weeks of preparation, I was able to gather information about Rin. Ichika claimed that she was the hot-headed type, so taunting her will make her mad and somewhat disrupt her way of thinking. Well, I'm hoping so, at least. Also, I was able to properly ask Houki to train me the basics of Kendo. I was hoping to learn basics not only for the rudimentary stance and movements, but also to develop the "battle sense". It's hard to explain. Hmm... It's the awareness and the ability to read the enemy's movements. It also includes the ability to quickly assess the situation and the environment of the battle for the benefit of the individual. Having that said, I'm on my way now to the arena for the last day of our training, though no fight's going to happen. Just relaxation and getting the "feel" of the place.

"Are you sure we're not doing a mock battle today, Emmanuel-san?" Cecilia asked as we sat on the audience seats.

"Yeah. Rest is just as important as exercise, you know." I said as I sipped on my iced tea.

We sat there, silently enjoying the calm breeze. After around 30 minutes, we heard Elaine calling us.

"Hey lovebirds! Are you busy?!" She huffed as she stopped to catch her breath in front of us.

"Lo-lo-lovebirds!?" Cecilia stammered, blushing.

"No, not really. What's happening?" I asked.

"There's a good-luck party for you downstairs! It's gonna be big!" Elaine exclaimed, obviously giddy at the thought of being able to eat cake again. Sheesh.

"Pass." I waved her off, sipping again my iced tea.

"Well, if Emmanuel-san is not going to attend the party, then so am I. I will not attend this festivity." Cecilia then approached me little by little, trying not to get caught. Elaine, noticing this, left the scene quickly, smirking again with that scheming face of hers.

"Alrighty then~, I'm going to leave you two to your own 'business'!" And off she went, blazing towards the door.

"Uh huh..." I then felt a tap on my shoulder. It's Cecilia.

"Emmanuel-san." She asked.

"Yeah?" I turned to her, placing the now empty bottle beside me.

"I... I wanted to say sorry for the insults that I said to you when we first met. I-I know it was immature for me to-" I then interrupted her in the midst of her apology.

"Cecilia, listen. It's ok, really. I forgave you a long time ago. Forget about that already, it's just psychological warfare, what we did back then." I patted her at the back gently, comforting her. See? She's not really a bad person, just blinded by her pride which she really needs to work on.

"Ah, o-okay." She said, facing away from me. I somehow managed to catch a glimpse of blushing in her face. Dafuq?

"Well, let's head back now. I still have my daily devotion to do." I stood up, offering my hand for her to get up more easily. Like a gentleman.

"Okay! Let's go, Emmanuel-san!" Hmm? Instant energy recuperation? Nevermind, let's get going!

Later on, on my way to my dorm room, I ran across my rival for tomorrow, Rin.

"Oh, hi!" I waved at her.

"Hi, Guevarra. Make sure that you have trained well. I would hate to finish the fight so easily!" She huffed, raising her chest out high in an attempt to increase her height, which is failing quite miserably.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm _sure_ that you will wipe the floor with me._ Definitely._" I replied sarcastically. Couldn't resist.

"Wh-why you- Tomorrow! We will see who is stronger between the two of us! Humph!" She then stomped away.

"Heh. We'll see about that..." I whispered to my self as I entered my dorm room.

Lying down on my bed, I was able to fall asleep and take a nap. Sometime later, however, I heard a knock on the door while I was in the bathroom (I was awakaned by the call of bladder).

"Yeah? Who's there?" I shouted from the bathroom.

"It's me, Chifuyu." The voice was faint, being far away, but it's still very much clear and audible.

"Alright, wait a bit." Finishing my business, washing my hands with soap and water, and finally going to the door and opening it, sure enough it's Chifuyu again, with the same container that she brings every third week.

"Let's get this over with, shall we? I still have a lot of paperwork to finish." She said hurriedly, opening the case in a hasty, but orderly fashion.

"Oh, and by the way, this will be your last serum until Tabane or the other one says so." Chifuyu faced me as she prepared the syringe and the fluid.

"Huh? Why?" I asked as I rolled up the right sleeve of my shirt.

"They said that the dose that's currently in your body is enough for now. Also, they are busy with their own projects." She told me as she struck the injection to my body.

"Those two are working on something else again?" I thought out loud. Really, are they workaholic or something?

"They're both working on a separate project. Nevertheless, the projects that they are doing have a close interaction with each other." Chifuyu replied as she packed up after finishing her business.

"Well, I still got lots of paperwork to do, so I'll see you later." she said as she went out the door.

"Alright." I managed to say before I fell asleep.

**The next day...**

It's now the day of the battle. Observing the seats from high up in the air (I'm in my IS right now), I can't see a single vacant seat. Talk about full house! On the other hand, Rin is in front of me right now, piloting her IS "Shenlong". Because it's a personal IS, its appearance and stats are different from the mass-produced ones (no shit, Sherlock). Anyway, one of the most noticable things in her IS are the shoulder cannons that look like plates with a hole in the middle. It's probably some sort of cannon, but who knows? Hopefully it's an energy-type cannon.

"**Are you ready?" **the announcer asked us through the speakers. Rin and I nodded in response.

"**Alright then. Please get into your respective positions." **the announcer prompted us as we got into position.

"Finally, finally we'll get to see who really is the stronger one between the two of us, hmm?" Rin said, this time in a cocky voice.

"..." I kept silent, watching her every move.

"**Ready? FIGHT!"** the announcer shouted.

I then spawned my Spear at my right hand, but I stayed where I am. I'm fighting passively for now so that I can see her fighting style and possibly come up with a good counter-measure.

"Eh, so you're gonna fight me in melee? Good luck!" she said as she spawned a staff with blades at each end. The blades themselves are curved, like scimitars. She then charged at me, trying to stab one end of her weapon to me. I sidestepped and tried to slice at her stomach, which she dodged. I quickly traded my Spear for the Katana and sliced at her feet.

"So weak! Taste this!" Rin shouted as her shoulder cannons activated and fired. Huh? Where's the-

"Ow! Where did that came from?!" I growled.

"That was my cannon, the Dragon's Roar!" She said as she fired at me. Each consecutive shot seemed to hurt a bit more than the one before it. Got to do something about it immediately, because right now my IS shields is depleting quite rapidly. I strafed as she shot at me, replacing my Spear for my Greatsword at the right hand and Chain at the left.

"Alright, now it's my turn!" Just as I was about to sling my chain to her, we heard large, booming sounds from our surroundings.

**BOOM BOOM**

"What was that?" Rin asked, slightly panicking.

"A metal concert." I quipped, looking for the source of the noise.

"Haha, very funny." She deadpanned. Suddenly, I heard a missile being launced.

"Looks like we got an uninvited guest... Look out!" I screamed to Rin.

"E-eh!?" She was shocked, to say the least, seeing the missile speeding up to her. I noticed that the missile is travelling slower than the average ones, which often means that it hits **hard**.

"Rin, get as close to the ground as possible!" I commanded her through the private communication line as I tried to hook the missile to my Chain.

"What, what's happening?!" Rin said, fully panicking this time.

"**Rin, Guevarra! Get out of the arena, now! The teachers will take care of the problem themselves. Getting yourselves to safely is top priority!"** I heard Chifuyu's voice over the announcer. The whole arena seemed to rumble as the audience ran towards the door. Faculty at the audience seats are doing their best to maintain order in evacuating the innocents.

"Hell no! This is too much of a challenge to pass up!" I said as my chain caught the rocket. Steadying myself in the air, I spinned 180 degrees so that the missile go backs to where it came from. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed as the missile was hit by machine-gun fire, causing a large mound of smoke to cover the entire arena, diminishing sight range and making us cough a bit.

"Ugh, ugh! Ugh, ugh!" I heard Rin cough.

"Riiin! Riiiiiiinnnn! Rin, where are you?!" Eliminating the threat is essential, but rescuing my friend is far more important for me.

"**Aah, Guevarra-kun, Huang Lingyin-san! The gates are glitching, I can't get them open! S-so-so-" **The announcer became static before exploding a few seconds later, probably got hit by another missile.

"I, I'm right here, Emmanuel!" Rin called for help. Turning to the direction of the sound, I sped there as fast as possible while the smoke cleared.

"What's happening?!" She asked me again.

"Someone's attacking us." I said as I looked at the source of the attacks. It looks like an IS, but the first thing I noticed is that unlike the rest of the IS, this one is fully armored. We can't see even a hint of a human pilot inside it. It's shape is also like those of a golem from those fantasy games. The armor is also very thick compared to other IS. It's like every part of its body is made to contain a weapon. This raises my suspicion.

"I don't think that's any ordinary IS. If it is an IS anyway." I whispered to Rin, who has started being calm again.

On further inspection, it lacks the neck, shoulders and head. Also, it's arms are really long, almost down to the feet. Strange.

It's now starting to charge towards us.

"**-bzzt- -bzzt- You two, hold on for now. Try not to attack the intruder while we try to get the gates open."** Chifuyu said as she managed to return the speakers to proper working condition.

"Aw hell no! This means war!" I shouted as the uninvited guest neared towards me. Closer, closer...

"Rin! Use that cannon of yours!" I commanded her again as I dodged the intruder's strikes.

"Give me ranged support, I'll try to maim this one!" Dismissing the Chain, I willed the Katana to become the Greatsword, and so the intruder and me went into a merry dance of death. I can't get a proper strike in, and even if I do manage to land one, it's not very damaging. Rin, meanwhile, is firing at the... thing.

**Back in the control room...**

"Aaaahhh!" Maya is hysterical right now in the control room, having lost control above the situation (and the gates).

"We need to help them immediately, Orimura-sensei! Let's blast the gates and give them a hand!" Panicking, she's trying to regain control over the systems again.

"No need to." Chifuyu said as she drank coffee.

"E-eh?! But, clearly-" Maya was suddenly cut off by Chifuyu.

"Listen. I have known Guevarra for a long time now, and I can assure you that he can, at the very least, pull the two of them to safety. Being a beginner to the IS, he can't defeat that thing right now, but he himself is very skilled in combat." She then continued to sip on her drink.

"Are, are you sure?" the greenette(?) replied.

"Yes, yes. So long as he doesn't get overconfident, that is. Rin is not the type of person that can go long with him in combat. Their styles simply don't match. Either Guevarra gets too carried away and leaves Rin behind, or Rin gets overburdened trying to catch up to Guevarra's pace." Chifuyu finished as she put down her cup on the table.

"If, if you say so..." Maya conceded.

"Is there really nothing that we can do?!" Cecilia joined in the mass hysteria that most of the staff and the students are currently in.

"Sadly, no. Either we wait for the tech team to be able to regain control on the gates and open them up or blast the doors open, but that will risk the safety of the students and staff. Especially those who can't access the IS." Chifuyu said as she watched the going-ons.

"Please be safe, Emmanuel-san..." Cecilia whispered to herself silently.

**Back at the arena...**

"Argh!" I managed to block that thing's slam again. My suspicions were right, it is unmanned and that almost, if not every, part of this machine has a weapon on it! While it is trying to smash me with those gigantic arms at the front, it is firing with rockets to Rin at the back. Rin is doing well blocking those rockets, but that's about it. I have to do something about this situation or else!

"That's it! I'm pissed off!" I shouted at the machine as I swiped at it's "face" with all I have, causing a large gash at the machine's torso.

"Rin! Use your melee weapon and try to disable its joints!" I shouted as I parried its slam again.

"Roger that!" Rin then boosted towards the machine's legs and started hacking away at the back of its kneecaps. The damage that we're dealing is starting to really get on the machine, since it's now starting to slow down and weaken.

**-Partner.-**

Hmm?

**-Did you notice that your weapons have veins at that they glow over time?-**

Yeah.

**-Once the veins are flashing, you can activate the weapon to hit stronger. Of course, you can activate it anytime, but the weaker the glow the weaker the increase of power you will have. The drawback there is that it also takes a little chunk of your shields, depending on how charged up it is.-**

So, this IS is like a berserker, eh? The lower my shields are, the stronger I get. Is that it?

**-Precisely, Partner. The lower your shields are, the faster you will attack, and the same happens with the weapon charge. Just don't forget to keep an eye on your shields.-**

How about the veins in the armor itself? Does it function in the same way?

**-Yes. For example, you can direct power at the feet boosters, but your weapon systems' charges will be taken, together with a little chunk of your shields. However, the energy consumptions work a bit different in the armor category. Whereas in weapons it will consume the energy immediately, in the armor it gnaws at your energy reserves over time, which means that the longer you use it, the more energy is lost. Of course, the amount of energy consumed is relative to the speed attained in the amplification.-**

Oh, I see. Can I use my charges at the same time in multiple areas?

**-No, not yet. You still lack experience. In the near future, yes it is possible, however the amplification will not be as strong as it will be if you focus it on one spot.-**

Great!

**-About the Aegis, when you focus your energy at it, the defenses that it offers rises relative to the amount of energy contributed.-**

Alright.

**-The empowerments, however, is not as strong as Chifuyu's and Ichika's Barrier Void. Remember that.-**

Yep, got it. Can I use my charged power now?

**-Absolutely.-**

"Rin!" I called.

"What?!" Rin screamed, having a hard time dodging the rockets.

"Go back out and attack the machine with your cannons!" I shouted again as I prepared the Spear at my left hand and shifted the Greatsword into the Katana at my right hand.

"What the?! The hell are you thinking!? Can't you see that what we're doing is-" Rin ranted off. Dammit, this is not the time for that BS!

"Just do it, dammit! I got a plan!" I started focusing the charged energy to my feet boosters and back boosters or the "wings".

Rin hesitated for a bit before agreeing to my plan and started firing away as she strafed and reversed in the air. Preparing and focusing for a bit, I closed my eyes and breathed deeply before taking position by relaxing my muscles and mind.

"What are you doing?! Do you want to die?!" Rin screamed her head off.

You got the coordinates of where we will strike, Legend?

**-Yes. Ready to strike at the chosen coordinates. Awaiting further instructions.-**

"Now!" I shouted as my whole IS glowed brightly in a golden aura. A split-second after, my IS started charging at the machine in subsonic speeds, leaving a yellow streak in its wake. The machine continuously tries to hit me, which fails every time.

**Ziung Ziung!**

My machine made whizzing noises as it streaked past the machine, slashing. I started at the right knee, slashing horizontally at the joint behind the kneecap. I followed it up by slashing the same spot again immediately with the Spear. Not missing a beat, I stabbed the other knee joint with both weapons and slashed outwardly, slicing the left knee, and the left lower leg in extension, off clean.

"Rin! Focus on the dome located at the northern area of it's torso!" I shouted at her. Scanning for a bit, she then saw her target and started firing. I was just guessing at first, but I think that's it's locating systems. Screwing that up will give us a huge advantage.

"Emmaaannn!" I heard Rin call back.

"The sensory dome that you pointed out is now wrecked! The turrets are now firing nilly-willy and I really think that we should trash this large hunk of junk!" She pointed out. True enough, where there was once the sensory dome was now replaced by a large hole with broken, sparking wires.

"Alright, let's bash this trash!" I replied excitedly. The lust for battle within me is now at an all-time high, and nothing's gonna stop me now!

**-Partner, I just want to remind you that our shields are drastically low. In perspective, it only takes a half-charged empowered strike to completely drain us. By that, I mean if our shields totally deplete, every attack will land at your very body. So be careful.-**

What?! Fuck that shit, I'm going in!

"Alright, Rin! Focus on doing knockback strikes so that I can get close safely!" Having said that, I started to focus the charged energy to my Greatsword, which I shifted from its Katana form a bit earlier. Rin started firing at the areas between the machine's arm joint and torso with full force, causing a little bit of suppression. It's more than enough for my plan to work, though. I shouted a battle charge as I put my Greatsword behind me as I fly, charging it and gaining momentum at the same time.

**-Energy shields completely drained.-**

"Orrrryyyaaaaaa!" Here I come, buster!

"**LOOK OUT!"** I heard Cecilia's voice scream moments before I came in contact with the machine.

**Cecilia's POV...**

"LOOK OUT!" Cecilia screamed, heart threatening to rip out of her chest as she saw a fist of the attacking machine come out and strike insanely fast to counter Guevarra's attack. An explosion happened right after she screamed, instantly being followed by a large puff of smoke once again covering the entire arena grounds.

"Damn, he got overconfident again!" Chifuyu cursed as she banged the table while standing up. The coffee on the table spilled on a power box, causing power shortage, blinding them to what was happening in the arena. The atmosphere within the control room must be chokingly tense.

**Back in the arena, Rin's POV...**

I can only stare as Emman charged at the machine head-on, with absolutely 0 shields, facing a gigantic mechanical fist loaded with weapons. It's plain suicide!

"Emman?! Emman!" I shouted as the smoke blasted through my face and covered the arena. The smoke, unlike earlier, is very thick. Slowly, the smoke was fanned away by the wind, revealing the invader sliced cleanly, except the core, from the tip of it's left hand to the tip of it's right hand. I can also see Emmanuel below the sliced fist, looking at the core. Bits and pieces of wires and machinery were flying all around the place.

"You, you're okay!" I exclaimed, both surprised and happy. We haven't known each other for very long, but I know for sure that he is a good guy, it's just that he isn't very good at socializing and he's quite the sarcastic one.

"Yeah..." He said as he continued to stare at the core.

"What the heck are you doing there just standing around?" I asked, confused.

"Welp, let's take this core back and get it examined, shall we?" He told me as he took the core just before he fainted.

"Hey!" I managed to catch him before he hit the ground.

**Later that day, third person POV...**

"Well, we're lucky nobody got hurt." Chifuyu said finally.

"Everybody except him." Rin pointed at Emmanuel's all bruised up body, covered with multiple casts.

"Well, that's what he gets for being so reckless." the teacher replied, chuckling.

"But, Orimura-sensei! Aren't you worried about him?" Cecilia cried. Elaine and the rest just stood at the side, worrying.

"He's always like that, getting carried away and screwing himself up. Don't worry, he'll be fine." Chifuyu said as she left the scene. Later on, the rest also started to leave him in peace.

**Somewhere, in a secret area, at a secret time...**

"Well, I told you he can do it." A female voice said at the door near the dark room.

"Of course Okami-kun can do it! I'm just testing him!" A more childish female voice replied.

"Here is the core. Try to make it harder for him next time." The more mature female figure said as she left.

"Okey-dokey!" The childish one set to work...

**Well, that's that for now. Stay tuned and review!**


End file.
